


Unexpected Things

by RintinDestiny



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Bay Movies), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Movieverse Turtles, No Romance, Raph is a loveable asshole, Wheelchair bound MC, sequel to movie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-02-15 20:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 44,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13038996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RintinDestiny/pseuds/RintinDestiny
Summary: A young woman, Avery Ritz, lived happily in NYC until she was caught in collateral of the Turtles fighting Shredder. Now, wheelchair-bound and convinced she's crazy Avery must come to terms that her life is now full of the unexpected. Even if that means delving outside her comfort zone.





	1. Below the Wreckage

**Author's Note:**

> This was something I started writing years ago and only now have decided to finish. I'm going to re-upload some stuff that's been up on fanfiction to here. Let me know what you think, I love feedback.

It's strange, when one is so close to death, how the senses are heightened for however long a time is have left. The first thing that Avery truly noticed besides the ripping pain in her back, were the smells. The chalky tang of smoke that coated her burning throat. The coppery scent of her own blood that was only slightly overpowered by the smell of dirt and dust which felt suffocating in her nose.

The next thing that Avery noticed besides pain were the yells of people and the screams of police sirens. She could tell that other people were stuck in the rubble that had collapsed from the tall skyscraper that loomed overhead.

It had been a perfectly ordinary day up until the point that the building had begun to collapse. She had been walking back to her apartment from her office job down the street when people began running and screaming. Avery had just been able to look up to see the descending rubble before it fell.

The girl could barely make out anything around her and funnily enough, the one sense that seemed to have dulled in the chaos was Avery's sight. She could barely see the shapes of metal and rubble that were piled around her. She tried to raise her arm but she found that even the slightest movement made her entire body scream in pain. Blackness overtook the young woman for a moment and she was unsure of how much time passed before she regained consciousness.

This time she noticed how dull everything had become. Sounds seemed muffled and her lungs didn't want to be working correctly. Every rise of her damaged chest sent spasms of pain throughout Avery's body. She was dimly aware of something moving nearby along with the clink of sharp metal sliding into place.

The girl let her head fall back and she looked up to see that a large chunk of metal had been shifted by a large gray mass in her vision that was steadily coming towards her.

Dully, Avery realized that the gray mass was some sort of person that was making it's way over and she tried to call out. The only sound that came from her was a moan that ended with a huff of breath. Either way, the figure seemed to notice.

There were loud clangs as the silver/gray mass came over and gazed down at Avery through the mess of tangled metal and rubble. Avery waited but the figure didn't do anything and a slight flash of panic went through her as she realized that whoever this person was...they were going to watch her die.

She tried to move again but the only response that her body gave was pain and she whimpered as blackness circled her vision. Through the haze though she saw the figure turn to leave.

Suddenly, there was the high pitched screech of metal bending and a whole section of rubble collapsed, sending the figure spinning out of the way and Avery felt something in her leg snap as a beam fell from above. There was a loud growl and the girl screamed, wetness splashing her face and chest. There were more shouts from outside of the rubble but Avery had no time to register calling for help. The blackness swallowed her and she graciously accepted the invitation into oblivion.

* * *

The silence was normally something that Donatello would have relished to have just five minutes of...but that was before the past few days happened. After about two hours of it he was starting to wish that anyone, even Mikey would say or do something.

At the moment the purple banded turtle was trying to salvage what was left of his precious computer and equipment from their half-destroyed home. Master Splinter was still resting and would probably continue to do so for quite a while. Each of the turtles were taking turns in watching over him and getting him anything he needed. Right now it was Raph's turn and he was taking his role extremely seriously. Sitting in the curtained-off room in contemplative silence.

Leo was out making sure that no remaining Foot had tried to get back down into the sewers and had been patrolling for a good couple hours. Mikey was fast asleep in a hammock that he had salvaged from his old room, his snores were covered by an upthrown arm.

Donnie hefted a heavily dented computer tower up out of the rubble and wiped the brick dust off to examine the damage. A few scrapes and a broken router plug but for him, that was an easy fix. Just some duck tape, wire, and two clothespins could repair that. He carefully put it next to the sparse group of other things that he was able to save from the mess. He continued in this pattern, finding some odd or end of his old computer monitors or TV set up that he would either discard back into the rubble or set aside for when they relocated their home.

It was then that he heard soft footsteps that most wouldn't notice and he looked up over the rim of his glasses to see Leonardo trot through the entrance of their home.

"Leo!" he said enthusiastically, cradling a handful of wires and circuits.

He was about to make a crack about the quiet that he had been dealing with until he saw the look on his brother's face. His gray eyes were icy and his mouth was set in a tight line as he approached his younger brother.

"What happened? Is it the Foot?" he kept his voice soft as he dumped the wires to the ground and straightened up.

Leo shook his head, "No, but I'm not exactly sure what it is. I'll get Raph, you wake Mikey. You all need to see this."

Donatello was taken aback, "What about Splinter?"

Leo's expression softened slightly, "He's stabilized for now. Hopefully, this won't take more than just a few minutes anyway."

The second turtle nodded slowly and walked over to where Mikey was sleeping soundly, a reasonably sized drip of drool spilling from the corner of his mouth. With a flash of satisfaction, Donnie gripped the top of the hammock and shook it back and forth, causing the snoozing turtle to swing into the wall.

"OW! Bro!" Mikey woke suddenly and fell gracelessly to the ground, his plastron cracking against the floor.

Donatello gave a satisfied grin, "Rise and shine Michelangelo."

The youngest turtle groaned and rolled up into a crouch before standing to stretch his arms above his head.

"Don, bro...not cool. What's the deal with the waking and such?" he asked before giving off a massive yawn.

The older brother rolled his eyes and put a finger to his lips.

"Shut it..." he hissed, "Leo needs to show us something important."

At this, the orange masked turtle's hurt expression vanished and was replaced with the usual sneaky curiosity. Within a few moments, three of the four turtles were gathered outside of the lair. Unfortunately, Mikey was rapidly becoming bored at having to wait for their leader and had taken to tapping his nun-chucks on the wall while humming 'Ice Ice Baby'. An antic that was quickly becoming old with Donnie and Raph.

"What is Leo doin'? He's the one that wanted us out here..." the largest of the three turtles growled, rubbing the pommel of his sai.

Don simply shrugged in response, as he was concentrating on not hitting Michelangelo upside the head with his staff.

It was then as if he had heard his brothers, Leo came from the lair. His face was still stony and his brothers saw this, quieting them.

"Alright fearless leader, what is it that ya wanted to show us?" Raph grumbled, leaning forward off the sewer wall.

Leo flashed a glance at the red banded turtle before turning to Donatello.

"Do you have your first aid kit?"

Donnie blinked in surprise, his glasses flashing in the dim light.

"I always keep a spare with me...why?"

Leonardo nodded, "I think we may need it, come on lets hurry."

At this, the leader started forward at a jog, his brothers flashing a glance behind him as they kept up.

For a good few minutes, the four turtles made their way into the older part of the sewer system, sometimes having to bend over double in order to fit through some of the openings. The light started to fade out into a dim twilight that was only pierced by a light coming from the occasional sewer grate. It got to the point that Raphael was about to stop and demand answers when Leo held up a fist to halt his brothers.

"What in the hell is going on Leo!" Raph hissed, his eyes glinting in the semipermeable darkness.

The blue banded turtle held up a finger to indicate silence but pointed up ahead to where the sewer ended in a large metal grate. The grate allowed the water to flow forward to a long plunge down into the true underbelly of New York. The group walked forward behind Leo who crouched low around a corner and pointed once more to the grate.

At first Donie, Mikey, and Raph couldn't tell what Leo was trying to show them but quickly their eyes adjusted and they saw the small shape curled up against the grate on the driest piece of concrete that it seemed to have been able to find.

"Is it a human?" Mikey was the first to ask in a hushed whisper, his blue eyes wide.

Leo nodded, "I think they've been lost down here but for a long time...I'm not even sure if they're..." he said trailed off, not wanting to assume the worst.

"Great...blue and bold goes and finds us another human to take care of," Raph growled and half turned to leave, his interest disappearing immediately.

A stern hand reached out and stopped Raph by grabbing the rim of his shell.

"Raph, we just saved all of New York and you're going to walk out on one person who could be dying." Leo frowned.

The bigger turtle scowled even more, "That's jus' it. We jus' saved New York City! One human in a bunch ain't gunna change much." he retorted, shrugging his shell out of his brother's grip.

Leo was about to grumble back a reply when a hiss from Donnie caught both his and Raph's attention.

"Hey...guys! Before you get into a holier-than-thou fight and all that, can we deal with the fact that this human is moving." the purple banded turtle pointed around the corner.

It was true, the person had uncurled from their fetal position and had tried to pull themselves forward, only to slump to the grimy concrete face first.

"That, can't be good..." Mikey muttered, standing along with his brothers from their crouched positions at the corner.

Without a word the four, somewhat reluctant turtles slunk around the corner and across the murky channel of water, Raph hesitating in the back. Donatello was the first to approach and his first thoughts weren't happy ones.

Immediately, the first thing that struck the turtle was the smell. Of course being in a sewer would stink most of the time but this was more than just the normal smell of garbage or sulfur. It was the coppery tang of blood mixed with the sour of sickness.

Cautiously, Donny removed his bo staff and prodded the human to see if it was conscious at all. This received a low, muffled groan but nothing else. No movement, no words, not even an attempt to protect themselves.

"Donnie, what do think?" Leo asked, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder as he put his staff away.

The bespectacled turtle frowned, "Nothing good. I think they've been down here for at least a day now and they're hurt...badly." he answered, setting his brothers into a series of murmurs and whispers.

Donnie turned back and approached the human so that he could inspect what sort of damage had been done. He gently used a digit to pull back the tangled mass of hair that was covering the human's face before gently turning them onto their left side. It was then that he realized that the human in front of him was a young woman.

She seemed to be late teens early twenties, possibly older since it was hard to tell by the blood, hair, and grim that covered her. He winced as he saw that some of the blood was a lot fresher and was darkest around the woman's legs and back.

"Jeeze...did she put 'erself into a car compactor?" Raph growled from behind Leo, his eyes narrowing at the bloody sight.

Donnie shook his head in shock, "It looks like her legs are partially crushed along with some trauma to her back. I don't even see how she got herself down here...or how she's still alive."

The turtles fell into a stunned silence as Donatello brought out a small metal tin that had a medical cross on the front. Delicately, he turned the young woman onto her back, earning another pained sound from her.

"Careful..." the purple banded turtle heard one of his brother's mutter, though he couldn't quite tell which.

He couldn't help but roll his eyes, out of the four of them he was the one with the most amount of medical expertise...and they were telling him to be careful. Ignoring the rising annoyance of the backseat doctoring and the build-up of apprehension as he continued to see more and more blood.

Donnie gently placed the tips of his fingers against the girl's neck and concentrated on getting a pulse. He couldn't feel anything at first but slowly he felt the pressure of a slow, dull heartbeat.

"She's lost a lot of blood. We need to get her somewhere safe before I can do anything to help her. If not then she's going to die." he finally said, turning to answer the expectant looks of his brothers.

There were a few moments in which nobody really wanted to say what was on everybody's mind. At least until Mikey opened his mouth...

"What about Splinter?"

At this Donny and Leo cringed at the same time and shared a glance, they knew that if they were to bring back a human, hurt or not, Master Splinter would not be happy. Especially after all that had happened so far over the past few days. There were several seconds of silence, precious seconds that Donatello knew could be used to help save this girl's life.

"What if we patch her up at the lair and then bring her to a hospital or call an ambulance once she's well enough to go? Master Splinter will still be resting for a few more days." Leo finally said, glancing at Mikey and Raph.

Both nodded, though the red banded turtle was more reluctant and he refused to glance at the girl. Donnie nodded resolutely before carefully maneuvering the girl so that he could pick her up. Gently he supported the girl's shoulders and waist and then picked her up.

The girl's eyes shot open as Donnie hoisted her up and a loud yell escaped from her lips, echoing through the tunnel. This made the turtles almost jump out of their shells and fall back into the channel of filthy water. For a brief second the girl's pain-glazed eyes locked onto Donatello's before she fell unconscious once more. Her head lolled to the side leaving a smear of dirt and blood on the turtle's plastron.

Leo, Mikey, and Raph all gazed at Donatello with wide stares, their hands at the ready to whip out their weapons. The purple-clad turtle himself was speechless and very uncomfortable as he stared down at the girl, fearing another violent outburst.

"Let's just get to the lair..." he muttered and turned to leave.

It only took a few minutes before they four turtles and their unconscious guest arrived back. Since Splinter was occupying the only viable bed in the other room Donnie made due with an old sheet of plywood set up on four cinder blocks. The most comfortable aspect of the whole thing was a small pillow that the turtle had scrounged up from somewhere.

Leo, Raph, and Mikey stepped back as Donny began to patch the girl up. Each flashing apprehensive looks to each other as the minutes ticked by. Soon the minutes turned into hours and the group began to disperse and go about their own task once more, leaving Donnie to finish. Mikey replaced Raph at Splinter's bedside and Leo began the task of collecting his own belongings.

Raphael decided to keep watch over Donatello from afar so that he didn't overwork himself as he always tended to do when he set himself to a task. The hours continued to creep by until almost one o'clock in the morning did the red-clad turtle put a heavy hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Don, you gotta get some sleep bro," he growled softly, tiredness dragging at his own limbs.

The younger turtle sighed and sat back on his heels as he stared dazed at the still unconscious girl that lay on the platform before him. After a more in-depth examination, he had come to the unfortunate discovery that both the girl's legs had been broken in two separate places. She had bad internal bleeding along with most likely a damaged spine and probably a concussion. Not to mention the severe lacerations, bruises, and gashes that covered the rest of her.

Donnie had done everything in his power to bind, stitch, clean, and bandage the girl's wounds without having to do surgery and violate the girl's decency. But he doubted that it would be enough, especially with the internal and spinal injuries. The girl would need a blood transfusion soon if she didn't stay incredibly still. He didn't want to move her either, to do so could worsen her injuries.

Raph gave his brother one last slap on the shoulder before heading to his own sleeping are in another room. The younger turtle sighed heavily and began to pack up the remaining medical supplies that he had. He slowly stood up, his joints popping for having been in one position for so long. He closed up his kit and put it away before grabbing one of the last blankets that they had that wasn't being used.

Carefully he draped it over the girl before turning to leave. That was when something caught Donatello eye that he hadn't seen when he had been dealing with the wounds. He bent down to examine a dark patch just above the girl's collarbone on her neck.

"I need sleep..." he grumbled as he removed his glasses and rubbed his aching eyes, not evening trying to figure out what his tired mind was seeing.

He turned and went over to his own sleeping mat and nearly fell onto the thin cot. He placed his glasses on the ground before rolling onto his side and closing his eyes.


	2. Rescued?

Avery saw roiling colors pass in front of her vision like looking through a very psychedelic lava lamp. The same vision that she had been having what felt like days. She vaguely remembered moving but not of her own will. The girl felt a spike of pain rip through her spine as she was jolted upwards, the pure pain rocking Avery out of her limbo.

Momentarily her eyes shot open and an involuntary yell tore out of her throat. Despite the dim light of where she was, everything seemed bright and blinding to the girl. She looked upwards and saw the reason for her sudden movement. Hazel eyes locked onto a pair of glasses and realized that someone had picked her up.

Avery didn't have time to process who she was looking at though as her vision dimmed once more to blobs of color and then finally to black. Dreams faded in and out of existence along with strange faces and a white light at some point or another. Avery had no sense of time, she could have been in this state for a few minutes or hours upon hours. All she knew was that she was floating almost away from her body.

She sank down into the dreams until even they faded and the floating feeling vanished. It was strange as she felt a tingling start in her chest and spread down to her legs. She felt her chest tighten and a rush of glorious oxygen entered her lungs. All at once white flashed in her vision and slowly Avery felt her senses return. Her whole body hurt, like every nerve was on fire and her eyelids felt like they were made of lead. As if she had cotton in her ears sounds slowly made their way through in muffled spurts that made her head pound.

Avery strained slightly and her eyes slowly opened, allowing dim light to pierce her eyeballs. Even the watery brightness made her shut her eyes once again, praying that this agony would end once more. Slowly the sounds faded and the brightness went away and was replaced by the darkness of rest that she gratefully excepted. Again, Avery's senses returned after an untold amount of time. They came back gradually though and not all at once like before. She slowly opened her eyes and the light that had hurt them before was nonexistent and it was pleasantly quiet.

Avery blinked once, twice, and then three times to try and clear the cloudiness of her vision. The first thing that she was able to recognize was the pattern of bricks that were part of the ceiling. They were gray and old, covered in either dust or grime. The girl wanted to roll over as she realized that whatever she was laying on was hard and flat, making her joints stiffer than they already were.

Unfortunately, even the idea of moving sent shivers of pain down Avery's spine and she immediately dismissed the idea, knowing fully that she probably shouldn't be alive but somehow was. Carefully she tried to turn her head, wincing as the muscles protested even to that.

Immediately, she regretted the decision as she saw where she was or the fact that she didn't know where she was. The last thing that Avery remembered was pulling herself away from the rubble that had nearly crushed her and had fallen into an unfinished manhole. From there it was a blur of pain and dragging herself somewhere safe. The room seemed to be half demolished, or at least in the middle of being reconstructed.

Large chunks of concrete were strewn about on the other side of the room where a gaping hole in the wall seemed to be messily patched up with planks of wood. There seemed to be another room to the left that was obscured by a tattered piece of cloth as well as a smaller upraised area just in the corner of Avery's vision. The girl knew that this was not where she had passed out. It was definitely less than fine living but it was obvious that someone lived here.

That's when the fuzzy memory of the amber eyes behind flashing glasses rose to the surface of her still dulled mind. Her rescuer... He or she must have moved Avery to...where ever she was now and had somehow taken care of her. She felt a mixture of gratefulness and anxiety flash through her at the thought. She was amazed that she was still alive but who exactly was it that saved her? It seemed very dark and the girl assumed that her rescuer was asleep, at least until she saw something shift in the darkness.

The girl felt herself stiffen as a shadowy shapeshifted in the corner in some sort of hammock. She saw an arm flop over the side and hung only a few inches from the ground and couldn't help but gasp.

Instead of a normal hand, the dark shape only had three thick fingers that twitched slightly as their owner slept. Heavy snores humming through the air. With the sudden intake of air from the gasp, Avery's lungs hitched and sent her into a burst of painful coughs. She had no control as the loud coughs echoed through the dwelling and at first she was terrified that whoever was in the room would wake.

Every jolt sent waves of pain through her and she felt tears form in her eyes and the fear of the person was replaced by a fear that the pain would not stop. There was a flash of light and the sound of heavy footsteps as Avery struggled to stop coughing as she tasted blood in her mouth.

Voices whispered and something touched the back of Avery's head. Drips of cool water splashed into Avery's throat and she gratefully swallowed the life-giving water to cool her burning chest and wash away the metallic taste of blood. Finally, the coughs subsided and she laid back in a daze. Hushed voices continued to circle above her head and she realized there was more than one person now.

"She's awake!" she heard one voice clearly now, coming somewhere from her left.

Avery blinked blearily as the water was taken back, trying to clear the tears from her vision as the light from a flashlight blinked in her face. She panted as she tried not to panic at the overwhelming amount of things that were now suddenly happening. A digit pressed against her neck to take her pulse as two more voices joined in the indistinguishably murmurs overhead. With one last series of blinks to try and make her eyes adjust to the bright flashlight overhead one face came into focus. It was the same face that she had seen when she had been jolted out of unconsciousness by her pain earlier.

The bright amber eyes that flicked back and forth behind a thick pair of glasses. Though the eyes were attached to something much less friendly looking.

Avery suddenly had the urge to run as she realized why whoever her savior was had only three fingers. She watched as the fingers led up to a green scaly arm that was heavily muscled and looked like it could easily snap Avery in half. She saw the rim and plastron of a shell that confirmed what she was seeing...despite the dim thought that she could possibly be hallucinating.

The being that was standing over her was a large, two-legged, talking turtle.

* * *

 

Donnie looked down in surprise and the girl blinked blearily past the flashlight that he was shining down on her face. At first, the dark hazel eyes seemed confused, trying to figure out exactly what she was looking at. They suddenly widened though as her eyes roamed the purple-clad turtle's face. He could see fear and shock blossom across her bruised face.

Behind him, he could tell that Raph, Leo, and Mikey had come in at the disturbance thoroughly disgruntled at the interruption to their sleep.

"She's awake!" Mikey grumbled, stifling a large yawn as he was unexpectedly woken again for the second time in two days.

Donatello nodded taking his hand away from her neck, pleasantly surprised at the increase in her pulse. She had gone from nearly dead to...well, at least awake in the span of twenty-four hours. That wasn't the best thing yes, but it was better than the other outcome that the turtle had thought of.

The girl's eyes were still flitting back and forth to each of the four brothers, her pale face turning a slight gray color.

"Dude, are humans supposed to turn that color?" Mikey whispered loudly, not really concealing the question at all.

The three other turtles shared a glance, "She needs to calm down..." Donnie muttered, fearing that the girl could possibly go into shock. Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo backed up slightly as the girl shut her eyes and began muttered to herself.

Donatello could hear the whimpers and couldn't help but feel slightly bad. Of course, this human was going to be afraid finding herself hurt in an unknown place, surrounded by strange beings whom she didn't know the intentions of.

Donnie remembered how he felt back in the glass case, his blood slowly being drained as scientists goggled at him from behind masks.

He shook away the memory and focused on trying to calm the panicking human down.

"Uh...miss?" The girl's muttering came to a halt and her eyes shot open once more, riveted to the ceiling.

Donnie was slightly at a loss as the girl refused to look over at him. The silence stretched on and on until finally, a sigh came from behind.

"Great..." Raph growled, stood up and began walking away. "...things keep gettin' better."

Leo rolled his eyes at his brother's coldness. The girl blinked once and shakily turned her head, obviously still in pain. At first, she didn't seem to look at anything in particular but slowly her gaze landed on the closest turtle to her. For several seconds she stared and the purple-clad turtle felt extremely uncomfortable under the wide-eyed gaze.

"W-what..." the sound was more of a croak than an actual word but at least it broke the mounting silence.

The three remaining turtles lined themselves along the edge of the makeshift bed and shared a glance as they tried to perhaps answer some of the many questions that were running through this human's mind.

"Miss, I'm sorry if we startled you." Leo started out, drawing the girl's attention.

The look that she gave the blue banded turtle indicated that she was definitely more than just startled and her eyes narrowed.

"We found you in the sewer and brought you here to patch you up enough to send you back to an adequate hospital. Unfortunately, you were injured more than we thought."

Donnie said softly and as if on cue the girl winced once more as she looked back over at him. The three brothers shared another glance, at a loss for what to do since the girl seemed almost inconsolable. She simply furrowed her brow in pain again and closed her eyes.

"I think it would be best to leave..." Leo muttered and stood up, stifling a yawn so that his brothers couldn't see how exhausted he really was, being woken up at two in the morning was not supposed to be on his to-do list.

Mikey followed suit along with Donnie who was also extremely tired and wanted more than anything to fall into his bed and sleep. They all stood and were turning to leave when a low sound made them halt.

"Thank you..."

The rough whisper barely made it to the turtle's ears but it made them turn slightly to see that the girl had opened her eyes once more and was watching them leave. The turtles turned to face the human and each gave a nod each with a small smile before leaving.

* * *

 

Avery watched the strange creatures left without a sound. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest and she tried to take a deep breath. This action was met with another flash of pain but luckily it didn't start a second bout of coughing. The girl was still half-convinced she was dreaming through a pain rattled mind. She couldn't help but feel better though, at least she knew that her rescuers didn't want to harm her.

Or at least three of them didn't...the fourth one that Avery had only gotten a brief glimpse of before he left and he didn't seem as friendly.

A sudden surge of exhaustion flowed through Avery and she felt her already heavy eyelids droop. She didn't want to sleep though...she wanted to somehow get out of this place and just go home. She wasn't one who handled stress well, especially if it was out of the ordinary.

A million different scenarios ran through the girl's mind as her eyes finally closed. Most of which were probably unwarranted worries that had no foundation but either way these worries sprang to life as she fell asleep. Becoming dreams that could have been left undreamed. Avery wasn't sure for how long she slept but it seemed to be for quite a while, at least another full day.

She was starting to feel more alert but every part of her still hurt unbearably when she even tried to move. Every so often she could taste blood too, and this is what concerned her the most about her condition. Obviously, these turtle things were trying to help her but if she was as injured as she thought she needed expert medical help.

Unfortunately, there was no way for her to get to that by herself. Avery had heard the purple turtle say that they wanted to wait until she was 'patched up enough' but how long would that take? Avery had been living on her own for about a year now so no one would really notice her disappearance right away. She had consequently taken two weeks off from work so that was the most amount of time that Avery had before someone noticed that she was missing. If that didn't make her rescuers let her go, her mom was supposed to come up from Virginia in another month and she doubted that she was going to miss her not being home. It was then that there was the sound of something or someone stirring.

Avery expected to see one of the turtles come through the doorway. The girl took a deep breath and prepared herself for the sight and turned to look. In what happened next Avery was just glad that she had somewhat prepared herself. If she hadn't then she probably would have screamed. Instead of the expected masked, walking, talking turtle Avery's eyes bugged out as something extremely furry paced through the door. The hair on the back of her neck rose as she saw the large black eyes immediately lock onto her, eyes that belonged to a huge rat.


	3. Ice Breakers

Leonardo knew something was wrong as soon as he woke up. It wasn't by anything he heard or saw but it was just an instinctual feeling as his eyes opened. It was normally quiet in the mornings since he was always the first up, but this silence pressed in on the turtle's ears and made him want to make a noise.

Slowly, he sat up and peered around the room that he shared with his brothers. Everything seemed to be normal...or as normal as it got with their family.

Mikey had hung his hammock in the corner and was muttering something to himself in his sleep. Raph had his shell to Leo but seemed to be asleep by the chainsaw-like snores coming from him. Donnie was on his back on the far side, arms and legs spread eagle and it didn't seem like he would soon awake for anything.

Leonardo shifted and stood silently, stepping from the room to find the reason for his uneasy feeling. He was about to get out into the main part of the lair when he heard a noise, actually several different noises.

The turtle froze at the light  _tink_  of what sounded like China and a soft voice speaking from behind the curtain that divided the main area from the bedroom. Immediately, the turtle's thoughts went to Master Splinter and he felt his blood run cold. The injured girl was in that room and so was he.

"Donnie!" the blue-masked turtle hissed as he turned to face the bedroom once more, coming over to his brother's side.

The still sleeping turtle muttered something in his sleep and lazily rolled over, his mask askew on his face. Leonardo rolled his eyes and squatted down next to his younger brother.

"Don!" he hissed once more causing the purple-masked turtle's eyes to shoot open and he sat up suddenly.

"Wha...who..." Donatello mumbled, half asleep as Leo clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Shhh!" Leo motioned for Donnie to be quiet after removing his hand and stood, pointing to the doorway.

The younger turtle shook the remaining dregs of sleep away and followed his leader while adjusting his mask. At first, he seemed fairly confused as to why Leo had woken him up until his brother motioned to the small noises in the next room.

Leo mouthed a single word and Donatello thought his heart might have stopped.

"Splinter." he breathed, feeling his insides grow cold as the soft voice fell silent for a moment in the other room.

The clink of China continued as the two turtles crouched just out of view of the doorway, their eyes reflecting the same fearful shock that they each felt. Master Splinter had obviously recovered faster than they had anticipated and, had unfortunately found their new guest.

"We need to hear what he's saying and if that girl is saying anything in return." Donnie finally whispered, crouching by the covered doorway before pressing his head against the frame.

Leo copied on the opposite side, both their eyes narrowed as they concentrated on trying to make out what was being said.

* * *

 

Avery looked on still slightly in shock as her new visitor continued to chat quietly next to her while sipping tea out of a chipped cup.

At first, the rat, who had introduced himself as Splinter, was just as surprised to see Avery as she was to see him. She had tried her hardest not to simply ignore her current state and run but soon the rat made it clear he wasn't planning on hurting her. She had tried to talk and answer the questions that he asked but her voice was still extremely rough, from both lack of use and her injuries.

Splinter had seen this and he had disappeared into the small room he had come from.

"I see that my sons have taken their guardian roles on a little too well..." she heard the rat mutter as he returned with a wooden tray.

Avery couldn't help but feel relief as she saw that the tray was laden with some tea and bread.

_'Food!'_  she thought to herself and glanced at Splinter who gave a kind smile.

From then on the rat had graciously given Avery some cooled tea and even small pieces of bread, seeming aware that the girl could barely move. Every so often he would either just state something or ask a small question, most of which Avery could answer with a simple nod. At least until after a long bout of silence the rat put the cup he was holding down and turned to fully face Avery.

"How was it that you were put into this condition, my child?" Splinter asked, his liquid eyes narrowing but more in curiosity than suspicion.

Avery took a breath, careful not to over expand her aching chest.

"Building collapsed..." she whispered, trying not to sound like bullfrog.

Splinter blinked in surprise, "What building?" he asked quickly.

The girl frowned slightly, not exactly sure of what building it had been. It had obviously been one of the taller skyscrapers but it was New York City. There tended to be quite a few of those.

She slowly shrugged, wincing as a flash of pain went down her spine, "Some skyscraper."

Splinter's ears flicked back for a moment in anger before sighing and pouring more tea into his cup as well as two others ones. Avery thought it strange but didn't question it too much, she was talking to a giant rat so it was sort of the least of her worries.

"What is your name young one?" the rat asked once more, his composure back as soon as it had vanished.

Avery took another breath, "Avery."

The rat nodded, "That is a good name, Avery. Mean's wisdom I believe..." he said softly and the girl blinked in surprise.

"I am truly sorry that you are in this predicament, Avery. I do hope that I and my sons can help you." he continued, setting down his cup and placing his hands on his folded legs. The girl was about to thank him when the rat held up a single digit and his left ear flicked back.

"Isn't that right Leonardo...Donatello?"

Avery watched in shock as after a full thirty seconds of silence the fabric covering the far doorway rustled and two of the turtle creatures came through, guiltily looks crossing their features as they slowly approached Splinter and the girl. Avery watched as the rat gestured for the two turtles to sit and they did so silently.

She realized now why Splinter had poured two extra cups of tea and she felt amazement wash over her.

_'He could hear them that whole time!?'_

Avery felt suddenly very uncomfortable just lying there on her back as Splinter and the two turtles, (she hadn't figures out who was Leonardo and who was Donatello yet) sort of just watched her. After a minute the two turtles took the remaining teacups and sipped quietly in silence.

The silence got to a point where Avery considered falling back asleep just to stop the awkwardness that she was feeling.

"Is there something you wanted my sons? Or did you simply want to practice your ninja stealth?" Splinter finally broke the silence, a slight hint of humor lacing his voice though his face stayed serious as he turned to the two.

The blue turtle seemed to wince at this statement and the purple-clad turtle glanced away.

"Sorry, sensei...we just weren't sure how you were going to react to our guest," he said quietly and snuck a glance at Avery.

It was then that she started to come to the realization that she wasn't exactly the most welcome guest and had dropped in without permission. Though, in her defense, she had been unconscious.

This made her feel even more uncomfortable as she simply laid there and continued to look and listen.

Splinter sighed and shook his head, "Do not worry, I am not upset by young Avery here. I am, however upset that you tried to keep it from me." he glanced at the blue banded turtle.

"Especially you Leonardo."

Avery saw embarrassment flash across Leonardo's face and she felt bad that her being there was getting him into trouble with Splinter. But the moment passed relatively quickly this time and the tense atmosphere dissipated.

"So your name is Avery?" Donatello spoke this time glancing over at the girl, trying to flash a friendly smile.

Avery tried to return it but she figured that it came out more like a grimace, all she wanted at this moment was to be back where she belonged. No more weird creatures or injuries, just her sleeping, getting some food and taking care of her cat.

_'Maybe I can make myself pass out again...'_ The thought passed through the young woman's mind but she dismissed it. These 'beings' were trying to help her, there was no reason for her to freak out to the point of hysterics. At least not yet...

She nodded slowly in answer.

"And you live in New York?"

The girl nodded once more, her smile becoming slightly more genuine as she tried to calm her thoughts and just accept that this was indeed happening to her, whether or not she wanted it to.

The exchange of simple questions continued for a little while longer until Avery started to grow tired of being interrogated. She knew that all the questions that the turtles and the one question here and there from Splinter were harmless, but all the same it felt like she was a bug under a microscope. There was a small break in the conversation in which Avery took the chance to clear her throat.

"What about you?" she croaked out, hating how her voice sounded, "Who are you?"

Leonardo and Donatello looked at each other and the blue turtle opened his mouth to respond when a deeper voice interrupted.

"That's a big question with a long story..."

All eyes turned to look at the doorway which the two turtles had first come through. The fabric was pushed aside and the two remaining turtles whom Avery didn't know stood there with slightly different expressions. The one that had spoken, a red banded turtle that seemed to be largest (and scariest) out of the four was leaning back against the wall with a moody and slightly irritated expression. The second orange banded turtle was looking on with a more bemused expression that displayed curiosity if anything else.

Avery glanced back up to the red banded turtle who looked right back, almost defiantly challenging her presence in his home. Warily, the girl glanced away, feeling even more unwelcome than she had been a few minutes earlier.

"And, one that may be told at a later time." Splinter interjected, flashing a glance at the new arrivals before looking back to Avery.

The girl nodded in response, grateful for the change in conversation and the chance to close her eyes. She heard shuffling and she assumed that the turtles and rat had gotten up to leave. Avery couldn't deny that she extremely curious about what and who these creatures were...but the more dominant feeling was still of confusion and fear. It felt like she was prisoner almost, though she knew that these turtles didn't seem to want her there any more than she wanted to be there. Especially, the red banded turtle whose name Avery didn't know...

She figured though that the faster she healed the faster she could go home...and that it would be for the best.

 

 


	4. Change of Plans

Avery wanted to scream but knew that doing so would irritate her already hurting body and would probably concern her hosts more than they already were. Inside though the girl wanted so much to get up and have the pain that she was feeling go away. She also wanted this constant feeling of being watched to go away too.

For the past three days, Avery had mostly been trying to sleep or at least fake sleep so that the strange turtles and rat would leave her be. Though it wasn't that hard, they didn't seem too keen on interaction either. She couldn't avoid them constantly since they would periodically bring her water, food, and the occasional pain medication but she was still uneasy with her whole situation.

It also bothered Avery that on a regular basis she would have some sort of coughing fit and she would taste blood in her mouth. The fits weren't as bad as the one she had undergone when she had first arrived but they certainly weren't getting better as the days progressed. She refused to say anything though as it had become apparent that she was just an additional thing to take care of for the turtles.

They may have been her saviors and was she was grateful that they saved her, but she was far from getting comfortable with them taking care of her.

When she was sure they weren't looking Avery would watch as the strange creatures went about their day trying to clean up what seemed to be the remains of their home. The one that was called Donatello seemed to spend most of his time recovering bits and pieces of machines and computers that were scattered about the space, most of the time dumping whatever he found into a large pile of bent metal and unusable wires.

Leonardo didn't come through the main room as often but when he did he always glanced at Avery who would promptly try not to seem awake. She wasn't sure if her ruse truly worked but it at least made her feel better. The blue-banded turtle always seemed to be thinking though, and Avery would sometimes see him sitting cross-legged in the next room as if in meditation.

The other two turtles seemed to be almost opposites of each other when it came to acknowledging Avery.

The girl had heard the one with the orange bandanna called Mikey once and had assumed that it was short for something, though she wasn't exactly sure. He seemed younger than the others by the way that he seemed intensely curious about Avery. He almost always was trying to get her to talk, though he didn't have any trouble keeping up a one-sided conversation. Only a day ago he had knelt by Avery and had tried to get her to have a conversation about what her favorite pizza was. She had been extremely surprised at his sudden interest in her since up until that point, she had been left mostly to herself. The contact didn't last very long though as Donatello had shooed Mikey away, telling him to let her sleep.

The last turtle seemed to have the exact opposite way of thinking. Since the day that Avery had woken up she had only seen the red banded turtle twice. He never looked at the girl, never tried to talk to her, and didn't seem able to stay in the same room for more than a minute or so. Avery had come to the conclusion that he simply didn't like her, whether that was because she was technically intruding on his home or because she was a human Avery wasn't sure. But she felt that she didn't particularly like the situation any more than he did.

As for the pain meds, Avery was wary the first time that Donatello had given her one. But when they proved to help she gratefully excepted them. They were only effective to a point and made it easier to sleep but Donatello had told her briefly that they were highly potent and couldn't be taken more than twice a day. That wasn't always enough and Avery would have to deal with burning aches in her back and chest. Another big concern of hers was that despite the fact that her legs were still broken she couldn't really feel them.

At first, she just attributed that to not moving them in quite a while and the fact that she was lying on a flat board that was not the best for circulation. But it still weighed heavily on the girl's mind and she prayed that she could get to a legitimate hospital soon.

At the moment all of her hosts had left to follow their master out of their lair and had left Avery by herself. She was thankful for the respite and the silence it allowed her. It gave her time to think and, even better, time to peacefully sleep. Even at the thought, her eyelids started to droop and Avery felt sleep start to overcome her and gratefully traded it for the ache that had started up once more.

* * *

 

The four turtles faced each other, their weapons drawn and eyes narrowed as they stood at the ready. Master Splinter paced back and forth to the left with his hands clasped behind his back as he glanced at his statue still sons. He came to a halt and raised a hand, making everyone tense.

"Hajime!" he said sharply with a flick of his tail.

The four turtles lept forward and their weapons met with a clash. Donatello's staff hit Leonardo's katana's as Raphael ducked the swinging blows of Michelangelo's nunchucks. After many days of not training and practicing due to recovery and the unforeseen arrival of their guest, Master Splinter had wanted the turtles to get back into the habit of training as soon as possible. And of course, their first exercise was sparring.

There was a loud clang as Donnie pushed Leo back against the wall, making him drop one of his blades. He ducked as he brother took a swing at his head but his staff hit the brick instead. The blue banded turtle rolled up into a crouch before taking his remaining sword and going on the offensive.

Meanwhile, Mikey was trying not to panic as Raph charged forward, his sai drawn and at the ready. The orange-clad turtle ducked and lept to the side with a yell while swinging his nunchuck. This continued for a few minutes until Mikey was able to catch one of Raphael's ankles and trip him. He put all his strength into the blow which sent the bigger turtle spinning to the ground, his shell cracking against the cement.

There was a similar crack as Donatello swung and missed, his staff hitting the floor as Leo flipped passed him, his sword swishing through the air to come to a halt only a few inches from the turtle's glasses.

"Yame!" Splinter said sharply, making his sons freeze for a moment before going to line up in front of their master.

Raph grumbled some curses under his breath as Mikey offered his brother a hand, which promptly got swatted away. The four turtles lined up and knelt, looking up at Splinter, his dark eyes darting from one to another.

"Well done my sons." he began, clasping his hands behind his back and began pacing in front of the brothers.

"You fought well even after all that has happened, though you still need to work on many things." the rat's tone changed as he looked to Donnie on the end.

"Donatello. You fight with speed and determination but you must keep your actions under control, the staff is an extension of yourself. Not a baseball bat." the purple turtle nodded, dipping his head.

"Raphael, you have much strength but you need to know when to use it and how much. Your sai are not pitchforks, they can be used in more than one way." Raph let out a breath but nodded slowly.

He was obviously less than pleased about the fight's outcome.

"Michelangelo, you fear too much. You must trust in your abilities and apply them accordingly. That said my son, well done on your victory." the orange banded turtle grinned to himself as his master moved on, earning him a death glare from Raphael.

"Leonardo, you handled yourself well and evaded even though you were nearly bested..."

"Yeah...'course mister perfect..." Raph muttered, earning an elbow from Donnie.

Splinter's ears flicked backward but he pretended as if he didn't hear the commotion as he continued to address the blue banded turtle.

"Even so, you must learn to do whatever it takes to earn your victory. Do not hesitate when the time comes my son."

Leo dipped his head, "Yes...sensei."

There were a few moments of silence in which Splinter continued to observe his sons before taking a deep breath. Even now he could tell that they were still exhausted. Not just physically but mentally as well, it showed in their eyes. The rat knew that he was their master but he was also their father...

"That will be all for today, my sons. We will continue on tomorrow," he said, making all the turtle's heads snap to attention in surprise.

"Really master?" Mikey piped up.

Splinter couldn't help but smirk to himself, "Yes, unless you wish to continue on with your katas then-"

Immediately, three other hands clamped over the orange banded turtle's mouth, causing him to almost fall backward.

"I think we could all use the rest sensei!" Donnie interjected, flashing a glance at his younger brother.

And, before their master had a chance to change his mind the four turtles had stood, bowed, and then turned to jog back to the lair.

"Nice goin' dim wit, you almost made us go back to doing kata." Raph gave Mikey a playful smack, though he coupled it with a rare smile.

Michelangelo grinned back, "Well maybe if you had actually blocked my nunchucks then maybe you wouldn't have to practice more bro."

"That was a lucky shot an' you know it, Mikey!" Raph shot back as they turned the corner.

With a shove of his large shoulder, the red banded turtle pushed shoved Mikey. The momentum of them running plus the shove made the orange banded turtle skid and fall into the channel of water just outside the hidden entrance to their lair. Donatello and Raph broke into hysterical chuckles as Mikey sat in the mucky water, his blue eyes glaring daggers at his brother. Leo tried not to laugh but allowed himself a smile at his brother's expense. As much as he knew that Mikey was picked on the most he wasn't always innocent.

"Come on Mikey." Leo smiled as he helped his youngest brother up, trying to conceal his own laughter.

"Dude, not cool." the orange-clad turtle grumbled, shaking the water off of his head as Don pulled the lever that opened their lair.

The four turtles continued to shove each other playfully as they entered their half-destroyed home, though it was slightly better than it was before.

"Dude! Who's up for pizza? Haven't had any in forever!" Mikey exclaimed, doing a perfect flip on their couch made of pizza boxes and old cushions.

"Only if you're buyin' numskull." Raph laughed, turning to go back to his room when he stopped.

The red banded turtle froze in his tracks at the sight before him for several seconds before turning and calling behind him.

"DONNIE!"

The bespectacled turtle whipped around and came up next to his brother, his own eyes the size of dinner plates as the humor that had filled the room evaporated.

"Oh shell no..." he muttered before kneeling beside the fallen shape on the ground.

Avery, who had seemed fine as she slept that morning, had somehow gotten herself off of her platform and was laying on the ground. Blood, both fresh and long dried were splattered here and there on the floor. Also, more seemed to be dripping from the girl's mouth and nose. She seemed to have fallen off of her platform in another coughing fit while they were gone.

"Don, what's going on?" Leo demanded, coming up to see the sudden exclamation from his brothers.

The purple banded turtle was frantically trying to find a pulse on the immobile girl but wasn't having any luck. He desperately saw the slight rise and fall of her chest but nothing else.

"Something's gone wrong," he muttered, pressing his fingers against the girl's neck.

"Ya no kiddin' but what! She was talkin' yesterday." Raph growled, staring at the blood.

"Now this?"

Donatello shook his head and half turned back to his brothers, his face stony and serious.

"I don't know exactly what happened! But we can't wait anymore, we need to get her to a hospital. If not, she  _will_ die!" he said grimly.

There were a few minutes of silence in which everyone but Don looked to Leo. The blue banded turtle taking a deep breath before stepping forward.

"Alright...Don get her up and prepare to head out. Change in plans, we get her to a hospital  _now_!"


	5. Compensation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suprise Avery isn't dead but things aren't all hunky dory...

_Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep_

Avery heard the beeps and wanted to kill whatever was making the noises. She couldn't even describe how horrible she felt. That was saying a lot since in the past few days the girl had been crushed by metal, dragged herself to a sewer, was rescued by mutants, and then had promptly blacked out.

Avery could barely keep conscious at the moment but it was strange, instead of feeling fearful or scared she was simply annoyed. Something was covering her nose and mouth and made the air feel stuffy. Her nose felt extremely itchy but her arms hurt too much to move. To add on top of everything else the beeping seemed to be getting louder and all Avery wanted was for it to stop!

She guessed the only nice thing about her current position was that whatever she was laying one was soft and cushiony.

Finally, the young woman mustered the strength to open her eyes. The beeping continued on at a steady rhythm as she blinked a few times to clear her blurry vision. At first, she was confused at another change in location. Last Avery remembered she was trying to sleep in a half-destroyed sewer with four mutant turtles and a giant rat. Now, she had somehow ended up in what looked like a hospital room. It was getting very disorientating passing out every few days and ending up in a different place.

The click of footsteps made Avery turn her head slightly and look passed the mask-like thing that was covering her nose. She saw a short woman who looked to be in her forties walk into the white room, she was dressed in scrubs and held a clipboard. The woman looked up and her eyes widened as she saw that Avery was awake.

"Welcome back Ms. Ritz!" the woman smiled, coming up the bedside and checking the monitor that seemed to be the source of the annoying beeping.

Avery didn't know what to say, or if she could actually say anything at all. Everything hurt at the moment.

"What...happened?" Avery almost groaned, her voice coming out in barely a whisper.

The nurse turned, her smile fading slightly.

"You've been through a lot young lady but don't worry. The doctor will be in shortly, he will explain what's happened over the past week or so."

The young woman's eyes widened,  _'Week!'_  she thought in shock, something bad must have really happened to her if she couldn't remember being out of commission for seven days.

How could she had gotten to a hospital without remembering? Did she die? How did the turtle things even get her here? Were they even real?

The nurse saw her almost panicked look and put a gentle hand on Avery's arm, careful as to not hurt her.

"Don't worry! You're alright now, you made a miraculous recovery Ms. Ritz and everything will work out okay. Just rest for now okay?"

Avery looked up at the nurse and all at once wanted a hug. Yes, she was a functioning twentyone-year-old and she wanted a hug, was that so much to ask for? Instead of doing so though, the girl simply nodded and closed her eyes once more. She didn't sleep though as memories and thoughts flew through Avery's head. For a good half an hour or so she tried to figure out what had happened but for the life of her, she couldn't make heads or tails of how she had gotten from simply trying to sleep down in the sewers to blacking out and ending up here at a hospital.

That's when the young woman heard a door open and more footsteps. She once again opened her eyes and saw an older man walking in. He had salt and pepper hair that was combed back from his face. He wore glasses that made his eyes seem a little too big for his face but he seemed nice enough as he smiled.

"Ms. Avery Ritz, I'm so glad that you're awake." the doctor said and pulled up a chair next to Avery's bedside.

"Me to..." the girl responded, trying to sit up slightly.

The doctor immediately sat back up with a concerned look, "I wouldn't move too much yet Ms. Ritz. You've only been out of surgery for a few days, you had some serious injuries." he said and Avery stopped moving.

"Surgery!?" she said in a rough voice, her voice cracking slightly.

The doctor sat back down once more, his smile tightening on his face.

"Yes, as I said you had some very serious injuries: two fractured legs, four broken ribs, numerous internal hemorrhages, cracked collarbone, a severe concussion, several lacerations and bruises, and a crushed lower spinal cord." the doctor read off, hesitating slightly on the last injury.

Avery blinked once, trying to make her brain catch up so that she could at least say something resembling intelligence.

"How long until I recover?" Avery finally was able to ask, grasping onto one of the many questions floating around her brain.

The doctor's smile was entirely gone now and was replaced with a sorrowful look. That coupled with the glasses enlarging his eyes made him seem like a bloodhound that lost its favorite toy. He took a breath before leaning forward and answering.

"I would say that your ribs and clavicle will shape up within a few weeks or so. And as long as you don't do anything strenuous over the next week, which I doubt, any remaining bleeding should stop. As for your legs and back..."

Again the doctor hesitated once more which frustrated Avery. She wanted answers and wasn't getting them fast enough.

"I'm not concerned about how long, can I please just know?" she said rather harshly, resisting the urge to try and get up once more.

"Well, Ms. Ritz. As I said the bones will heal...but you are not going to be able to use them. The damage to your spine was...irreversible."

At first, the young woman wasn't sure if she had heard right or not.  _'Irreversible?! He doesn't mean...'_

"You mean I can't...move them?" she murmured.

The man in front of her nodded slowly, his eyes showing how sorry he really felt.

"That is correct. You were paralyzed from the hips down because of your crushed spinal cord. There was nothing we could do to reverse the damage. I'm sorry, so very sorry." he said, standing up from the chair.

Avery stared into space, her thoughts not seeming to be able to collect themselves as the words 'paralyzed' and 'irreversible' seemed to float across her vision.

"Can I have a minute?" she asked quietly, though she didn't quite remember wanting to talk.

The doctor nodded, "Of course. I know it's a lot to take in all at once but don't worry yourself too much. We will do everything we can to help you get moving again."

The man tried to flash a smile but all the young woman did was stare straight ahead, seeming to try to move her now immobile feet with her mind. With a slight nod he left the room in silence as Avery continued to stare. Almost wishing that she hadn't woken up.

* * *

 

Eric Sacks felt like the world was falling down around him. His billion dollar company had lost almost half of its investors, stocks had fallen into the red over night, and not to mention that he was now facing criminal charges that had yet to be resolved. Then there were the numerous insurance claims that his building's collapse had injured dozens of people.

He sighed as he sat in his dark office, ready to pull his hair out. He had worked so long and hard to get this company to where it had been and now?! Ruined by a little girl with daddy issues and four mutant freaks. Yes, he had cheated some, paid under the table, and kept his fingers in many pies but who didn't these days? Business was business and those who couldn't except that were outnumbered and outgunned.

Sacks hit a fist against the top of his desk, scattering pens and pieces of paper to the ground and almost knocking over the glass of amber liquid that was left still half full.

"It can't be over yet..." he muttered picking up and taking a sip from the glass.

He sat in silence for a while longer taking periodic sips of alcohol until the glass was empty and his eyes had become slightly unfocused. Unmoving, he stared into empty-spaced as he reached into a drawer and pulled out a bottle with the same amber liquid. With slightly unsteady hands the man poured another half cup before replacing the bottle into the drawer.

"Why do you drink that filth?"

Sack's didn't immediately respond to the sudden voice that came from the dark shadow in the corner, his face showing no response what so ever as he took a sip.

"Because, Karai, it makes me feel better. And it's the only damn thing that can right now," he growled back, not bothering to move except to put his glass down.

The shadow in the corner moved and the woman revealed herself, her dark eyes narrowed in disgust as she gazed at the man before her.

"You sit and muddle your senses in drink while my father sits injured and in need. You are a fool!" the woman hissed, whipping out a short blade that flashed in the dim office light.

Sacks sat up at this, his eyes narrowed and his mouth curving up into a sneer.

"He is my father as much as yours Karai! You don't think I'm trying to do what I can up here? My company and life are about to be sucked away and you squabble over your petty feelings of insignificance." he growled, not noticing that he had risen out of his chair and had slammed both his hands onto the desk.

Anger and a spark of rage flashed through the woman's face and with a flick of her hand the slim blade was only mere centimeters from Sack's chin. The man didn't flinch though and simply stared at her, face calm and collected as the blade fogged with his breath.

"Go ahead and do it," he said in a near whisper, his light eyes locked with her dark ones.

"It'll make my life easier."

Karai remained motionless for a few more moments before slowly taking her blade back and sliding it back into its sheath.

"As much as I'd like to Sacks,  _our_ father requested that you discuss his future plans four days ago." the woman said icily.

"You still have not returned."

The man and gave a short chuckle, "And what plans would those be? The mutagen is gone, there's nothing to plan anymore. There's no point."

Karai almost growled, her dark eyes flashing as she was about to offer a scorching remark when the phone on Sack's desk rang. They both looked over quickly before the man's emotionless mask fell. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, his shoulders rising and falling slowly.

"Tell him that I will be back as soon as I can. I will listen to whatever plan." Sacks growled before picking up the phone.

Karai frowned, not liking how she was addressed as a lowly messenger. But she bit her tongue and slid back into the shadows, disappearing out the window from whence she came.

* * *

 

"How are you feeling today Avery?" the nurse came in, bearing a tray of food with her usual smiling face.

The young woman sitting upright in the hospital bed shrugged, "As good as I can be I guess."

The nurse nodded and set the tray on the girl's lap before putting a gentle hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. The same thing that she had done for the past three weeks.

"Remember today's your last day! You get to go home and relax," she said happily before turning to leave.

Avery smiled but let it fade as the woman left, her eyes wandering the tray in front of her tiredly. She was glad to be finally getting released from the hospital, though she knew that things weren't about to get any easier. The young woman had gotten used to the fact that she no longer could use her legs and had even begun to use a wheelchair to get around since her arms and clavicle had almost completely healed. But her life outside the hospital was starting to catch up with her.

Just two days earlier she had called her boss to explain what had happened, leaving out her hallucinations of giant turtles, and had given him the news that she was now a paralytic. He was kind at his reception and gave a sincere apology but also dropped the news that since Avery's job at the office required her to run errands and be fairly mobile.

This was his way of gently saying that her job was now up for grabs.

It was what Avery had expected though, she knew that she'd be able to get by on disability at least for a little while at least until she could find a better paying job. The other big event was that she had been able to contact her mother and tell her what had happened.

It had taken all of Avery's power of persuasion to convince her overly bearing mom to not drive the six hours up to New York at that moment. She explained how she would be expecting her mother to arrive in another two weeks like they had planned earlier in the year. Of course Mrs. Ritz wasn't the lease bit happy about getting the news that her daughter had almost died three weeks later but was able to keep her motherly instincts in check.

Now all that was left was for Avery to figure out a way to pay the astronomical hospital bill that was sure to appear within the next few days. She highly doubted that her insurance covered nearly being crushed to death by falling bits of skyscraper. Avery shook herself out of her thoughts and began to pick at the food in front of her, happy at least that she'd be able to get better food back home.

She was poking a questionable looking grape with her fork when the door opened a little while later. The young woman looked up to see the doctor, whose name she had since found out was Dan Greene, walking through the door, followed by another younger man with a wheelchair.

"Ms. Ritz are you ready to go?" Dr. Greene asked, smiling kindly.

Avery returned it and had to admit it felt good to smile.

"As I'll ever be."

The doctor nodded, "Excellent! Now all we have to do is have one finally examination and go over your vitals. Then you can be on your way home." he said, taking the wheelchair from the younger man who left.

Avery nodded, placing her now half empty tray on the table to her right as the doctor came to sit by the bed with his clipboard. There were a few moments of silence in which the young woman fiddled with the paper strip that was around her wrist, marking her as a patient in the ICU.

"Alright, Avery. First of all how are you feeling right now?" the doctor first asked, flipping through the muticolored papers on the clipboard.

The young woman shrugged as she had before, "Better than I did when I first got here. Though I still have a twinge here and there." she said.

Dr. Greene nodded, "That's to be expected. The twinges will most likely fade with time and the up keep of your upper body strength.

"Anything else?"

Avery was quiet for a moment, thinking of anything that had been bothering her. She absentmindedly scratched her neck. This triggered something that had struck her only a few days ago.

"My neck on the side that was broken. It's been itching lately? Is that normal?"

Dr. Greene looked up, "Sometimes, when the nerves and muscle start to heal it can feel itchy or sore. Though it shouldn't be at that point for at least another week." he flipped up another piece of paper and scanned it quickly.

Avery frowned when the man didn't anything for a few more moments and his own brow furrowed.

"And it seems that's why..." he muttered.

"I'm sorry?" Avery said, crossing her arms as her eyes narrowed.

The doctor nodded once before putting his clipboard down "No, it's alright. Just sometimes when someone is injured severly their immune system either goes into remission or, in rarer cases, over compensates. Which is what your immune system seems to be doing, though I'm quite surprised that it is still as active as it is."

Avery didn't know exactly what the doctor was talking about but she got the sense that he wanted to say something else.

"Is there anything that I should be concerned about?" she finally asked.

Dr. Greene shook his head and gave another smile, though this time it seemed less genuine.

"No no. We'll just keep it in mind and if you start feeling sick again you should come back here. You're immune system should go back down on it's own though."

The young woman nodded and uncrossed her arms, convinced enough that she was ready to go back home and get back to normal...or at least as normal as if would be from this point on wards. She felt a slight twinge of excitement at the thought of going home to her cat and watching a movie. It seemed almost sad as how much she wanted some normalcy.

From there, Doctor Greene did a simple examination. He checked Avery's heart, lungs, and that her spine was healing properly. Nothing seemed to be amiss and he congratulated the young woman with a firm hand shake.

"All that needs doing now is to check out and you can head home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I don't normally post too many notes but this is in regards to a comment that I got. It was requested that romance is introduced into this story. Originally, this story was going to be strictly an action story without any romance but since this is a rewrite I'd love to introduce a romantic subplot if others are interested in that. Just thought I'd put it out there that I'm thinking about it and would love other opinions!


	6. Unexpected Developments

Avery sighed as she woke up, savoring the first deep, restful sleep that she had had in almost a month. She felt cozy and warm with the sunlight streaming through her window and her head buried in her comforter. It almost didn't register that she couldn't feel her legs.

After a few more minutes the young woman sighed once more, knowing that she wasn't going to fall back asleep. She sat up and glanced at her clock, slightly surprised when it read ten-thirty. She normally would be at work right now, taking notes for her boss or running to the coffee shop down the road to fetch three lattes and two ice coffees for her workmates. That didn't matter now though, Avery was out of a job.

The young woman maneuvered herself to sit on the edge of her bed and gently pulled her wheelchair over. In one swift movement, Avery lowered herself down into the wheelchair and pushed herself towards the door. Absentmindedly, she scratched at her neck again as she planned what she would do for the day.

It had been almost a week since her release from the hospital, all in all over a month since she had been caught under the collapsing building. Within that week the young woman was already starting to fall into a new, somewhat boring schedule.

She would get up and get breakfast before feeding her cat and watching House. Normally, Avery would watch a few episodes before growing bored and would go on her computer and look for job applications. Once in a while, she had gone out for her version of a walk which usually included Avery pushing herself along the crowded sidewalks of New York until her shoulders would ache. Then she'd go home, make something for dinner and then get ready for bed before starting the process all over again.

Avery scratched her neck once more as she grabbed a dish from the dishwasher, scrunching her brow at the irritating itch. She grabbed a bagel from the fridge and threw it into the toaster.

Avery lived in a three-room apartment that was on the seventh floor of an eleven story tower. She had been ecstatic when she had moved to New York and found such a nice place for relatively cheap. Now, it made her life slightly harder since fitting a wheelchair into the elevator was not the easiest thing in a crowded apartment complex.

The young woman finished making herself breakfast and settled down in her living room, not sure what she wanted to do for the day. If she was honest with herself she almost missed the bustle of everyday life; grabbing coffees from downtown, running errands, even just the joy of being able to go for a run.  Not that being an office worker in New York was that exciting but at least it was something to do every day. With a submissive sigh, Avery grabbed the remote off of the couch and flipped on the TV. She carefully maneuvered her wheelchair next to the couch and pulled herself onto it. She neatly organized herself before pulling a blanket over her legs and settling down to watch more House.

* * *

 Avery shook her head for the hundredth time to keep herself awake. It was now almost one in the afternoon and the young woman felt like a potato. She had only gotten up twice in this span of time and was slowly getting frustrated. She hated not being mobile!

Avery sat up off her arm and stretched, the limb sore from holding up her head for so long. Once the fuzzy feeling in her hand went away Avery noticed something strange, her hand felt wet. The young woman looked down and saw that a light smudge of blood covered the palm of her hand and she frowned. She rubbed her neck and felt the rough area that she had been scratching earlier. Did she accidentally scratch too hard?

 Carefully, she sat up and agonizingly hefted herself back into her wheelchair.

Without any real urgency, Avery rolled into her bathroom, sighing as she could only see from her chin up in the mirror. 

Normally, the young woman would have simply ignored it and dismissed the scab as just an old scratch or some bump that she didn't remember getting. Ever since she came back though she'd been a little more paranoid about infections and anything that could have occurred because of her injuries. The young woman rolled her eyes and rummaged through one of the drawers. She snatched up a small compact mirror and tilted her head.

There was a sharp intake of breath and a scream escaped from the bathroom. Avery stared any dregs of sleep that had clung to her now long gone as her heart raced into her throat. The woman stared into the small mirror, her fingers turning white as she gripped it so hard that it shook. The blood was in a small amount but the reason for the blood was why Avery was staring horrified at her reflection.

The small series of bumps that the young woman was something much more substantial than just a scab or rash. Each bump seemed to be embedded into Avery's skin and was quite hard, like some sort of nail or scale material. In total there seemed to be twenty or so bumps, each varying in size. Some were barely visible and looked more like specks while some were almost the size of dimes. All of which was a muddled gray/green color.

Avery lifted her hair and saw that the bumps ran from her collarbone up to just below her jawline. She saw that in the process of scratching her neck she had dislodged one of the larger scales and that was the source of the bleeding. The woman experimentally put her fingernail against one of the larger scales and tapped. It resonated up her neck and Avery involuntarily shivered. Whatever these things were she could feel them and they hurt when pulled. Somehow they were part of her...

Avery nearly toppled out of her wheelchair as she turned and rushed to pick up her telephone back out in the kitchen. With shaky fingers, she dialed the hospital's number and put the phone to her ear. It rang three times before a woman picked up on the other end.

"Lennox Hill Hospital, how may I help you today?"

"Yes, I need to speak to Dr. Greene, please. It's very urgent." Avery said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

There was shuffling on the other end for a moment and the young woman tapped her fingers against the side of the phone in an attempt to keep from panicking.

"Dr. Greene is unfortunately out on a call for the weekend. If you'd like I can take your name and number and let him know you called. Or you could set up an appointment for next week." the woman said and Avery's heart dropped.

"Please, you don't understand. I need to talk to him about something that may have happened while I was at the hospital. I need-" she started.

"Ms! If this is a real emergency then I would gladly call an ambulance for you or if you have a complaint about the hospital I can connect you to Patient Relations." the woman on the other end interrupted, sounding less then friendly now.

Avery wanted to push further and was about spit back a retort. The words caught in her throat though as she reconsidered.

What would happen if an ambulance showed up and the people saw the scales or whatever they were and thought she was some kind of science experiment? Or what if she had some new virus? She wanted this to be handled without any sort of mass panic if it could be helped.

"No, I'm sorry. Just if you could tell him to call Avery Ritz back as soon as he can I would appreciate it." Avery said softly, keeping the shaking in her voice to a minimum.

The woman on the other end gave a satisfied huff and seemed to type something before shuffling papers.

"I will do that Ms. Ritz. Thank you for calling." There was a sharp click as the phone call ended and Avery sat there in her wheelchair, holding the phone as if it were a lifeline.

For a long while, she sat there, rubbing her neck in a mechanical, almost frantic way. Finally, a small tabby and white cat came into the kitchen and gave a small meow. When Avery didn't seem to hear, the animal lept up into her lap and butted its head into her chest. The young woman blinked and shakily took a breath before stroking the cat.

"I need answers..." she muttered to the tabby who blinked back happily, a purr starting up in its throat.

"I can't sit around anymore."

Avery wheeled herself back through her living room and into her bedroom. Her cat meowed once more and lept onto the bed, watching as the young woman started to rummage through her closet. She pulled out bags, random articles of clothing, and the occasional shoe until finally, she pulled out what she had been looking for: a backpack.

Then, Avery proceeded to stuff a few t-shirts, an extra pair of socks, her cell phone and a sweatshirt into the bag before quickly rolling herself back into the kitchen. She began pulling out drawers and throwing random things into the outside pockets. A couple flashlights, extra batteries, and a water bottle were followed by a few granola bars. Finally, she wheeled over to her front door.

"Okay..." she hissed through her teeth, staring at the front door as if it were some sort of hurdle or obstacle.

"Do I really want to do this?" she muttered, rubbing her thumb against the wheel of her chair.

_'You're going to do this and regret it...'_ a voice seemed to say in her head but she ignored it and continued her staring match with the door.

It wasn't until her cat returned and pawed at her knee did she look down, her features softening.

"Don't worry Klunk, I'll be back soon," Avery whispered to the cat before throwing some food down.

She knew that it would last him at least until tomorrow. If not, she could call a friend at work or something to check in on him. The less time she was away the better anyway. With a deep breath, she gave Klunk one last pet before opening the door and locking it behind her.

* * *

 

"Come on Leo...why do we have to come out and patrol this often? I was about to beat my headcount in Halo!" Michelangelo grumbled as he followed his older brother through the sewers.

The blue-masked turtle rolled his eyes but tried to keep his tone light as he answered.

"You know why Mikey. We may have beaten the Foot but that doesn't mean that they're going to turn tail and disappear. They could still come back looking for us. We need to make sure that they can't find the new lair."

"Dude, it's been over a month since then and we've seen nothing!" The younger turtle sighed but his brother didn't answer.

He knew that Leo was right though. He didn't want to become a walking blood bank again anytime soon. The turtle couldn't help but grumble though as Leonardo came to a halt and peered around a corner in almost exaggerated carefulness. They had come to a four-way junction in the sewer and it seemed that Leo wasn't going to move anytime soon.

"Bro...com'mon man," Mikey whispered, rolling his eyes.

The blue banded turtle whipped around, his light eyes narrowed dangerously and a finger pressed against his mouth in the universal gesture to shut up. Mikey backed off slightly but cocked his head to listen, trying to figure out what had Leo suddenly spooked.

All he heard was the slosh of water in the channel to their right and the occasional patter of a rat scurrying by. But then out of the normal, an unusual pattern of sounds emerged, making Michelangelo frown. At this Leo's hand moved towards one of his swords and he removed it silently.

The pattern started out with a scraping noise followed by some sort of hiss or whisper. Then, after a few seconds, it was followed by a soft clunk and more whispers.

"What is that?" he hissed after a few minutes.

The blue-clad turtle's eyes were glued to the tunnel directly across the channel from them, his eyes narrowed to slits.

"I dunno...but I bet you my second katana it's not supposed to be down here," he growled. Michelangelo nodded, removing his own weapons as his older brother took a cautious step forward.

* * *

 

"Dammit!" Avery hissed to herself as the wheel of her wheelchair got caught once more on the uneven floor of the sewer.

She shifted back and forth until the wheel jerked forward and she slid forward slightly on the grime-coated ground.

_'Stupid idea Avery! You know you came down here for no reason!'_ she thought to herself as she tried not to topple over into the channel of filthy water next to her.

_'Those turtle things were probably just a figment of your imagination...you got lost down here for pretend heroes that you made up!'_  she continued to think as she made her way forward slowly.

Wheelchairs definitely weren't made for subterranean sewer exploration, the thin wheels either couldn't get a grip and slid in the muck or got caught on every bump or uneven area in the concrete. Slowly but surely though Avery made her way forward with only one other obstruction until she came to the end of the tunnel. The concrete path that led next to the channel of water ending as her channel converged with four others at some sort of junction.

Avery growled to herself and looked around almost forlornly. There was no way that she could make it across the water even if she wanted to swim through the scarily brown water. Even then there was no way she would be able to keep track of where she was, eventually she'd have no way of getting out. If she hadn't gotten lost already.

"Well then..." she grumbled, feeling her heart fall at the prospect of waiting three days to hear back from Doctor Greene.

As great as that really sounded at the moment Avery wanted answers before whatever was happening to her got worse. There was no way to get those answers though, at least not now with her path blocked and her mobility limited. She stayed for a few minutes, glaring at the water as if it were the cause for every bad thing in the world.

Carefully, the young woman began the arduous process of turning her wheelchair as if it were some sort of vehicle. Inch by inch she rotated until her back was facing the junction and she was staring down the dark tunnel that she had come out of. Hopefully, she could remember the way that she had come.

With a hard shove, Avery pushed her wheelchair in motion but it stopped within seconds as the wheel got caught in yet another crevice that peppered the cement. She groaned and tried to rock the wheel back out but it stayed put. She grabbed the arms of the wheelchair and rocked back and forth, each time gaining momentum until she was moving back and forth at a respectable rate.

Avery could feel the wheel start to budge, just a little further... That's when she shifted her weight one last time and the wheel slid but this time it didn't stop.

The young woman felt the chair tilt as the wheel hit the edge of the channel and she lost her balance. For what felt like an eternity Avery fell and then she hit the water.

It was colder and faster then she thought it would be. The water swept Avery under at first until she remembered how to use her arms to swim. Unfortunately, from her hips down was dead weight and only helped the water carry her to the junction where it grew deeper. She felt her head dip under once, twice, and then three times before her vision was all but blocked out by grimy water and her hair. She went under and heard nothing but the high pitched hiss of water and her own panicked splashing.

Somewhere ahead there was another loud splash and something brushed Avery's waist. At first, she thought that perhaps it was just trash but it happened again and she started thrashing. Despite her panicked movements, whatever had touched her gripped her waist and she felt herself being pulled. She let loose a stream of bubbles that totally obscured her vision. Her lungs continued to burn as water rushed into her mouth. There was a loud series of splashes as Avery tried not to breath in the water and whatever disgusting trash was in it.

Without warning, she was heaved upwards and her head broke the surface. She gasped glorious lungfuls of air and began to cough harshly, her still bruised ribs twinging slightly as she tried not to pass out. At first, she didn't know what had happened as she was put down. The young woman simply sat backward, her shoulders leaning against the wall as she tried to pull her dripping hair away from her vision.

"Man, we need to start charging you for rescues girl."

The voice made Avery freeze and she quickly looked up as she brushed her hair out of her face. Standing above her were two of the turtle creatures that she had come down to find.

The one wearing the blue mask she remembered was Leonardo. The other one was wearing an orange mask and she dimly remembered his name being Mikey or something along those lines. He himself was also sopping wet but didn't seem to mind as much as Avery did.

Avery realized that he must have jumped into the channel of water after her and pulled her out. The both of them were staring at her expectantly and she realized that they were waiting for her to respond in some way. Instead, she had been staring upward dumbly.

"You-you are real." she panted, looking down to make sure she was still in one piece.

She was cold and wet but nothing seemed to be hurt except maybe her pride. Avery was slightly concerned that she may have opened up old wounds with her unexpected swim.

"What are you doing back down here?" Leonardo asked, his voice taking on a slight edge and his eyes narrowed.

Avery flinched but knew she couldn't quite blame him, she had sorta shown up out of the blue again. This time on purpose.

"I came looking for you guys, I...I need answers," she said softly, sitting forward slightly with her legs stuck out in front of her at odd angles.

The two turtles shared a glance before looking back to Avery.

"Look, we know you're probably confused and a little scared that we're living down here in your sewers but no one was supposed to know about us. It would be best if you just left." the blue banded turtle said, crouching down so that he was face to face with the young woman.

Avery flinched, wary of the reptile's face as she tried to not freak out.

"I...I don't care about why you're down here..."

This seemed to surprise both Leonardo and Michelangelo, their eyes widened slightly and they looked at the girl in front of them curiously.

"If it's not us then what do you want?" the orange one asked crouching down as well.

Avery didn't know how to explain exactly, she was still trying to get over the fact that she had actually found what she was looking for. Instead of speaking she simply pulled her sopping hair back and turned her shoulder, revealing the strange bumps on her neck and collarbone.

"I found these this morning. I have no idea what they are or where they may have come from except well...you." she murmured.

There was silence in which Avery didn't look up and simply let her hair fall back down, staring at her lap.

"Alright..."

The girl almost jumped at the sudden word and finally looked up, seeing that Leonardo was offering her a three-fingered hand.

She stared at the green hand dumbly before looking up to Leo's face.

"You're going to help me?"

Leonardo nodded, "If we can. I can't make you any promises though."

Avery nodded and gave a slightly uncomfortable smile, glancing at the offered hand.

"If you do want to help then you might want to get that wheelchair that fell in."

When the turtles gave her a confused look she sighed and dropped the smile, "I can't use my legs anymore, they're paralyzed."


	7. Answers or Lack Thereof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery finally gets answers! But not actually...but she does get threatened by Raph which is less than ideal.

"Here we are." Avery blinked as the cloth covering her eyes was removed.

She looked expectantly up but was thoroughly disappointed when all she saw was the solid brick wall of the sewer. She looked to the left and right but saw no entrance, hole, or even a ladder that led anywhere. She was extremely confused as to why the three of them were now staring at a blank wall.

_'If they're messing with me...'_ she thought to herself.

She glanced upwards with a scowl, nervous that she had somehow been led into a trap. Leo simply replied with a knowing smile before slowly reaching upwards. The turtle grabbed a section of pipe that ran overhead and turned it to the right. A sudden whoosh was followed by a heavy grinding noise as the wall shifted.

Avery looked up in shock as the wall of the sewer slid to the side to reveal a huge section of renovated sewer behind it. She shook herself as Leonardo and Michelangelo walked ahead and she pushed herself forward. Her wheelchair squeaking slightly as it dripped filthy water. Avery was speechless as she looked up at a vaulted ceiling and at the multiple pipes that led off from the room.

It looked like it could have been an old holding area for water and was quite a bit bigger than the old one. The lower floor seemed to consist of a large sitting area, some sort of kitchen, and a larger central atrium filled with training mats and weapons. There was also a large door in the far right corner that seemed to be covered in caution signs. Avery assumed that the upper level consisted of bedrooms of some sort and whatever else was needed for living.

"Welcome to Lair 2.0." Mikey grinned and gave an exaggerated bow as he jumped up onto the training platform.

Avery nodded, amazed that in just over a month the turtles had been able to build a new home for themselves. Her memories of the old sewer home were hazy at best but this seemed to be a definite improvement. Leo passed in front of her, glancing warily up towards one of the bedroom before turning to address Avery.

"Before we can do anything we need to talk with our sensei, he might be able to explain the situation better than any of us. Do you mind waiting here?" he questioned as Mikey leaped down to the floor.

The young woman nodded, pulling her still damp hair back into a loose pony-tail. It wasn't like she could go very far. The blue-clad turtle nodded back to Mikey before jumping up the stairs that led to the upper level and disappeared behind a rice paper door. Avery stared for a moment before continuing to look around, her uneasiness the only thing that kept her from exploring. Though she did allow herself a moment to rummage through her backpack. Nothing had escaped the murky water and now everything had a pervasively sulfurous smell along with being soggy and damp.

"Great..." she muttered, putting her head in her hands for a moment before hanging her backpack on the handle of her chair.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Avery's brain was having a tough time catching up with all that had happened again. She almost couldn't believe that the turtles were real and not just something she had dreamed. Avery almost felt like laughing, she wasn't crazy or at least not entirely.

She sat up once more in the silent room and glanced up to where Leonardo and Mikey had disappeared, hoping that this could be resolved fast and that somehow whatever was happening with the weird scales on her neck could be cured. Her thoughts began wandering and she realized that besides Leonardo and Michelangelo she hadn't seen anyone else in the lair.

"Weren't there two more?" she muttered to herself, glancing over to the far door that was covered with caution signs.

"At least ya can count."

Avery felt her heart jump into her throat at the unexpected voice and she nearly gave herself whiplash as she tried to turn around. With fumbling fingers, she turned her wheelchair around and looked up into the looming face of the red banded turtle.

She hadn't even heard him come into the room.

"What are ya doin' in our home?!" he growled once more while pulling out two three-pronged weapons from his belt.

Avery's eyes went wide and she backed up slightly, her hands shaking as she gripped the slippery wheels of her chair. She tried to respond but her voice got caught in her throat and she sat there gaping like a fish. The turtle smirked slightly, though his menacing expression stayed the same as he took another step forward.

"I asked, whadda doin' here?!" he pointed the wicked looking point of one of his weapons at Avery who swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I needed help...Leonardo and Michelangelo brought me here," she said quickly, leaning as far back as possible to get away from the sharp looking blade.

The red banded turtle straightened up, a sneer crossing his face. He didn't put away his weapons though and continued to glare at Avery as if she had personally insulted him. He seemed about to say something else when there was the hiss of the rice paper door opening and both the young woman and turtle looked up.

Standing at the top of the stairs was the same humanoid rat, Splinter, followed by Leo and Mikey.

"Ah, Raphael. I see that you've come to welcome our guest." Splinter said as he calmly took the stairs down, his sharp eyes pinning the turtle in place.

The large turtle glanced at Avery once before putting his weapons away, giving a dissatisfied huff. His angry expression faded though and Avery thanked whatever deity existed that the turtle was no longer looking at her.

"Didn't know we were startin' up a hotel," he muttered, walking back towards the other end of the room.

Splinter watched his son leave with a shake of his head before approaching the still startled Avery.

"I do apologize for that. Raphael can be overly  _protective,_ especially after the events that we have been through." the rat said as he came to stand before the young woman, his gaze softening.

She nodded slowly, her eyes wandering back over to where the red banded turtle had left.

"It's...okay. I know I'm not the most welcome person." she glanced back at Splinter and the turtles.

The rat smiled, "We are simply not used to visitors. Especially ones that seek us out so eagerly as my sons tell me."

Avery felt her face grow hot but she tried to keep focused, "I'm sorry, it's just I don't think that I could find answers anywhere else."

Splinter nodded, "Leonardo has explained to me why you came down here and you are right to be cautious. Though I'm sure you know that we may not provide much assistance."

"I think at this point I will take what I can get." Avery saw a flicker of amusement pass over the rat's face before he gestured to the far door that was covered in caution signs.

The young woman followed, wary of the door. As they got closer her apprehension increased as she noticed that the edges of the door seemed to be blackened as if they had held in an explosion.

"Donnie's nerd lab."Michelangelo learned over next to Avery and whispered.

The young woman jumped, not expecting the turtle to be suddenly so close. Her eyes widened, "Lab? Like as in a science lab?"

The orange-clad turtle nodded with a grin, "Yup, Don's like our own personal mad scientist. He's always tinkering with inventions and computers."

Avery self-consciously rubbed the bumps on her neck, half wondering if this really was such a good idea.

* * *

 

"Ow!" Avery muttered as Donatello held a small device against her neck and it pricked it for blood.

Donnie had been caught up with the current situation and immediately agreed to run some tests, almost too eagerly. The turtle rolled his eyes but said nothing as he glanced at the young woman before turning to the device in his hand. Once again she felt like a bug under a microscope as the purple banded turtle dialed in some numbers to the strange device and turned away slightly.

Apparently, according to Michelangelo, his brother had built it himself. Mikey had said this in an attempt to encourage the young woman but if anything it made her even more concerned. It looked like it had once been some sort of blood sugar tester but it was way past being anything recognizable to Avery now.

Wires and other doodads stuck out of it here and there making it look like something from Star Trek. There were several moments of silence in which Avery tried not to look anywhere other than her own hands. Behind her somewhere Leonardo and Splinter were discussing in low tones while Donatello muttered something to himself over by a very cluttered desk. Mikey was humming something to himself while flashing glances at the young woman.

Finally, after another minute or so there was a loud beep and everyone looked up and over at the purple masked turtle. He turned from looking over his desk with a very guarded look and he glanced over at his master. The rat approached and Avery clenched her hands into fists, a mix of fear and apprehension rising up as her answers sat only a few feet away.

"So?" Mikey said quietly, earning a quick glare from Donnie.

Splinter nodded to himself and walked back over to where Avery sat on a table, her wheelchair sitting off to the side.

"Avery, can you remember anything that was strange about the day that you were injured?" the rat asked.

The young woman frowned, she didn't remember much of anything from that entire week. Most of what she did remember, either doing or seeing were blurred or fragmented with black spots. She concentrated and tried to remember the few moments before the skyscraper had collapsed.

She had been walking back from work that afternoon when a big group of people had begun to scream and run. Avery had looked up at the commotion and then that was when the debris had hit the ground. She had felt the pain and blacked out then she remembered coming back to reality with blurred visions as she lay there, thinking that she was going to die.

"I remember the building falling," she muttered, closing her eyes as she tried to work through her muddled thoughts.

"I was hit and blacked out. Then I saw..." she hesitated, trying to discern the blotches of memory and what they faded colors and blurry shapes meant.

"What is it?" Splinter asked and Avery felt him place a hand on her shoulder.

Out of instinct, she flinched away, shifting to the side as she looked up into liquid eyes. Immediately, the young woman felt guilty at her aversion but saw that the rat didn't seem to take it personally. She closed her eyes once more and tried to remember the final moments of consciousness that she had before waking up with the turtles.

"I saw something or a person...they were covered in some sort of  _armor_ I guess." she opened her eyes once more and looked at Splinter.

The rat was looking at Avery intently, a slight flash of fear crossing his furry features. The same look was reflected in all three of the turtles that had also turned to look at the young woman.

"That's all I remember before waking up down in the sewers," she muttered, unsettled by how concerned Splinter and the turtles seemed by her account.

"Donatello, do you have any answers for Ms. Avery?" the rat looked away and took a step back, his hands clasped behind his back.

The purple-clad turtle glanced back down at the device in his hand. His eyes obscured by his glasses.

"Well, there aren't too many straight answers but I do have an  _idea_. Right now your immune system is extremely stimulated right now," he answered, glancing up at Avery.

She nodded slowly, "They said the same thing when I left the hospital. But my doctor said that it was because of the extent of my injuries."

The turtle shook his head, "Normally, yes that could be the cause but that should have stopped weeks ago. The reason that your immune system is so boosted is that it seems to be trying to fight something off."

"You mean I'm sick?" Avery said slowly, her brow furrowing.

"In a way." Donatello shrugged, "It's more like there is some sort of substance within your body that isn't supposed to be there. Your immune system is reacting to whatever that is."

There were a few moments of silence in which Avery absently rubbed the strange scales that on her neck.

"Is this  _substance_..." she almost spat out the word, "what's causing these things?"

Donnie nodded, "Though, I can't tell you what the stuff is."

The young woman blinked in surprise. "You don't know?"

More silence followed at the purple-clad turtle shook his head and looked at his brothers and Splinter. The rat seemed at a loss for an explanation as well which, if anything, irritated Avery. She had come down here for answers and now all she was getting were more questions. She had almost risked her life coming down to this stinking sewer to find these turtles and now all they were doing was telling her things that she already knew.

"I need to know what's happening!" she said sharply, trying not to show her anger but failing.

Splinter stepped forward, coming face to face with the young woman and making her flinch back for a second time.

"Avery." he murmured quietly but in such a tone that she listened attentively.

"This is a very complicated matter and the answers you seek are not easily teased out of hiding. Somehow you have been caught up in events that are much more complicated then they appear."

The young woman stared at the rat, tears building behind her eyes and she fought them back. She felt like everything was falling away from reality and the only solid thing that Avery felt she could grasp onto was the idea that she could get answers.

"Please..." she whispered, "Please tell me what you  _do_  know."

Splinter sighed and glanced over at his sons. He nodded once to Leonardo before turning back to look right into Avery's eyes.

"Donatello, please try to find out what you can. Avery as I said before, I cannot guarantee answers but I will tell you what I think." Avery nodded once as Splinter stepped back, her shoulders rising and falling as she took a deep breath.

Slowly, she reached down and grabbed the handles of her wheelchair and hoisted herself down.

"If you would follow me." the rat said and slowly turned out of the room, Avery following close behind.

* * *

 

"Here are the files you asked for sir." a young blonde said, handing a thick folder to Eric Sacks.

"Thank you, Emily," he grumbled, too tired to try and seem agreeable.

The intern nodded with a slightly offended look and briskly left the office, her heels clicking on the floor. She was one of the few interns that the company could afford to keep since it's decline but didn't seem too thrilled with it.

Sacks glared at the folder that sat smugly on the desk before flicking it open with the tip of his finger. His eyes scanned the names and claims that the dozen or so people had filed towards his company regarding the building collapse.

Each had pages upon pages of differing claims, ranging from injuries to simple car destruction. With a slight growl, he started going through the paperwork, sorting it by how valid the claim seemed in his opinion.

"Leeches!" he snarled as he read one claim from a Dorothy Davis who claimed that she needed money for therapy due to seeing the tragic event.

He continued going through the claims, sorting through them with a disdain that one would usually find when someone was picking up a dead animal. There a few claims here or there that seemed legitimate enough. Company cars crushed by debris, damage done to neighboring buildings, and two actual medical claims from people caught in the rubble.

Besides those few claims, Eric Sacks tossed the rest into the trash bin at his feet. With a sigh, he picked up the two claims from the two injured people. One was an older gentleman by the name of Steven Briggs who had been hit by debris and had broken his leg and suffered a concussion. Sacks rolled his eyes but knew that this was one claim that couldn't simply be ignored. He looked to the next one and saw that it was slightly different from the rest.

The claim wasn't actually from the specific person but had been filed by the accounting office of Lennox Hill Hospital. He read down the list and saw that it was a young woman who had been permanently disabled by the collapse of the tower. He conceded that this was probably the most legitimate claim out of all of them.

He sighed and reluctantly set the papers aside, slowly sitting up out of his chair before grabbing his briefcase and slipped the two valid claims into it before clicking it shut. With one last sigh, he straightened up and walked out of his office, locking the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I got both one request for romance and one for no romance. Since this is my story I have decided to simply go the way I had planned from the beginning. There won't be any love triangles or plot changing romance, sorry friends but this story was meant to simply be an action/adventure so that is what it shall stay. I hope you still enjoy! Let me know what you think.


	8. Nunchucks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery tries to come out of her shell (insert pun here) and Mikey tries in his own way to help.

Avery was enjoying the silence for once. Usually, the city girl in her looked forward to the hustle and bustle of life that was the heart of New York. She enjoyed falling asleep to the rumble of cars and shouts of random people, it was her lullaby.

Right now though the young woman had too much to think about at the moment. Sleep was the last thing on her mind at the moment despite the exhaustion that pulled at her eyelids. Her wristwatch had stopped at three thirty-two ever since her swim in the sewer channel. So Avery had to guess as to the time since she had yet to see a clock in the lair. She had spent a good chunk of the evening talking with Splinter and it had probably gotten late in that time. On pure estimation, the young woman assumed it was around eleven at night.

Avery remembered the things that the rat had told her, the story behind the mutants that were living in the sewer. He had abridged much of their origins to the pure facts that they had at one point been experimented on before being dumped into the sewer.

From there, Splinter had told how the wealthy entrepreneur Eric Sacks had captured three of the turtles and badly injured Splinter and Raphael in an attempt to get their blood. Apparently, the remaining turtle had gone with the help of two friends (whom the rat didn't really mention much) to Sack's estate to free his brothers before going back to New York to finish the fight.

Avery listened in disbelief as Splinter explained how, because of their fight the building had begun to collapse. Leading to the reason behind the young woman's injuries. For a long time afterward Avery had simply let the information sink into her brain, though for a long time she had almost tried to convince herself that it was still all just a bad dream.

Unfortunately, it had only gotten worse as Splinter had come to the decision that Avery should stay with them until her condition was brought to light. His fear was that Sacks would somehow find out and try to harm her. She had protested at first, wanting to go back home since she had already been down in the sewers longer than she had planned. Not to mention that despite the rat and turtle's good intentions they frightened Avery.

She couldn't help but feel bad about her adverse feelings but it couldn't be helped. The young woman simply felt uncomfortable, as if she were in the presence of someone who was sick. Avery never dealt with sickness or death very well, even being in the same room as someone who was deathly ill made her squirm. For whatever reason she got the same feeling whenever she was near any of the turtles or Splinter, the young woman would never tell them that though.

Splinter was adamant though and had Leonardo show her to a small spare room with an old futon stuffed in the corner. It was more of a small storage room but it was dry and livable.

This was where she was currently residing in her wheelchair. She was grateful for the piece of fabric that acted as a door as it gave her some much-needed privacy. It was simply a flimsy piece of cloth but to Avery, it was her mental wall.

She was confused and scared as she felt the bumps on her neck for what must have been the hundredth time. Avery didn't want to be there anymore, all she wanted was to fall asleep and forget. There was no way that she was going to sleep though, she felt exposed and vulnerable as it was with her limited mobility. Being stuck in a small room, surrounded by things she didn't know made her feel even more so.

Beyond her door of fabric, the rest of the turtle's home was dark and silent so the young woman assumed that the creatures were asleep.

_'Do they even actually sleep though?'_  she thought suddenly, not sure what to consider normal anymore.

_'Maybe they're nocturnal and sleep during the day...'_  she heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose at her scattered thoughts.

Avery tried to fight the burning behind her eyes but unfortunately, the sensation was much more persistent. She put her head in her hands as the tears ran down her face, her shoulders shaking pathetically.

* * *

 Michelangelo woke, feeling slightly more exhausted then he thought he should have been. He sat up in his hammock and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before adjusting his bandana. With a heave, he jumped out of his hammock and stretched before looking around the room. Mikey saw that all of his older brothers were already up and gone and he sighed, not really wanting to get moving.

"Ah, shell..." he muttered since he almost always got picked on for sleeping in.

He stretched once more and yawned widely as he walked out of the room. He heard soft chit chat coming from the kitchen and saw Leo and Donnie sitting at the table.

"Morning bros," he muttered as he walked in and began rifling through one of the cabinets in search of breakfast.

The two older turtles stopped their conversation and looked up at Michelangelo.

"Hey Mikey, did Raph ever come back last night?" the blue banded turtle asked as his brother turned, his hand digging into a box of Captin Crunch.

"Nah, don' thinch he came batch..." he mumbled as he stuffed a handful of cereal into his mouth.

Leo and Don shared a glance, both of them concerned about where their brother had gone off to in the night. Mikey sat down in a third chair and noticed the nervous looks that his brothers had on their faces.

"Guyths..." he said, crumbs tumbling down his front from his full mouth.

"Raph 'ill be fthine! Heth don dis befo'."

Leonardo raised an eye ridge and glanced at Donatello once more, "Translation please."

The purple banded turtle rolled his eyes, " He said that Raph's done this before. And..." he looked back at Mikey.

"We know he's done this before Mikey. Every time though he seems to get into trouble, not to mention that when he  _does_ get back he's gonna be pissed at Master Splinter's decision."

The youngest turtle momentarily stopped stuffing his face and swallowed his mouthful of cereal. He glanced over at the opposite side of the room were the covered doorway sat. The previous day's memories surfacing in his mind.

"Riiight...she's still here," he remembered.

The doorway was dark and silent, nothing seemed to be moving on the other side.

"Any sign that she's alive?" Michelangelo snarked, digging into the cereal once more.

Donnie shook his head, "Not yet. Though I can't really blame her, she probably has no idea what to do with everything that's happened."

Mikey nodded slowly before throwing a single piece of cereal up into the air and catching it in his mouth. There were a few minutes of silence in which Donnie got up to make his usual coffee and Leo simply sat, deep in thought. This continued until the blue banded turtle straightened in his chair. An insightful look on his face.

"Guys I just thought of something. What if we asked April to come down to meet this girl? Do you think that would maybe help her adjust?"

Donatello turned with a chipped mug of coffee in his hand, his expression thoughtful at this new prospect. Neither of the other two brothers had thought of this option, though now it seemed the obvious choice.

"That could actually be very helpful. Who better to help out a human than another human." Donnie grinned before sipping the steaming mug.

"Ya, O'Neil would be able to help her!" Mikey grinned and shot a fist towards the ceiling.

"Alright then," Leo nodded and stood from his chair.

"I'll go topside and talk to April. Maybe even keep an eye out for Raph while I'm up there."

Donnie nodded, "I need to stay in the lab to keep an eye on the test results and fix up some things around the place." he flashed a glance at Mikey.

"Cause apparently some turtles can't comprehend that nunchucks and kitchen appliances don't mix."

Michelangelo gave an embarrassed grin, "Bro, wasn't my fault! The microwave wouldn't give me my bagel bites back."

The bespectacled turtle simply rolled his eyes before leaning forward off the counter.

Mikey grinned and lept up, "Alright! Topside trip!"

He turned towards the door when Leo stopped the younger turtle with hand on his shoulder.

"Hold up Mikey, you should probably stay here."

Michelangelo's smile vanished and he shook off his brother's hand, "Bro why!? I haven't been topside in forever!"

With an amused look, the eldest turtle shrugged, "Someone needs to make sure that our guest is okay since Master Splinter is out and Dons got stuff to do."

The orange banded turtle's eyes went wide as silence fell for a moment, seeing now that his elder brother was indeed being serious. Why was he always stuck with the dumb jobs?

"Wait...what!?"

Leo gave slight smile before giving his brother one last pat on the shoulder, "You always have been a ladies man Mikey."

And with that the blue-banded turtle turned to leave the lair, the wall closing behind him with a soft boom. The orange-clad turtle turned and gave Donatello a withering look, simply earning himself a laugh from the older turtle before he went off to his lab. This left Mikey standing in the middle of the kitchen, the box of Captain Crunch having fallen to the floor.

"Ah, _man!"_

Avery started, her eyes shooting open as she realized that she had fallen asleep in her wheelchair. Her neck ached horribly as she straightened up, her back cracking in several places as the exhausting memories from the day before came rushing back in blurry flashes.

The young woman had forced herself to stay up into the early morning and had only dozed off within the last few hours. She yawned widely and stretched her arms up over her head, releasing another series of cracks. Avery tried to run a hand through her hair but stopped when her fingers caught in a huge rats nest of hair.

_'Great...'_  she thought to herself, grabbing the mass of dark hair and throwing it into a messy bun before turning to look at the covered doorway.

It seemed to be slightly lighter in the room beyond so she assumed that her reptilian hosts were up. She strained to hear anything but it was just as silent as it had been the night before. With a sigh she put her head in her hands and took a deep breath, trying to collect her thoughts.

Avery had no idea what she was technically  _"allowed"_  to do or what she was supposed to do. She knew she wasn't a prisoner but at the same time, there were limited options with her being confined to a wheelchair.

The young woman still felt wary of the turtles but knew that she couldn't just stay put away in a closet. She wouldn't get any answers by being afraid. Again her hand wandered up to her neck and she rubbed the bumps that ran up to her jaw, determined to at least look around.

Avery promised herself that if she still didn't feel comfortable then she would go back.

"Just relax..." she whispered to herself.

Carefully, Avery wheeled herself forward and hooked a finger around the edge of the fabric covering the door. She peeked out and with a relieved sigh saw that the downstairs seemed to be empty.

_'Maybe I could leave and come back when the test is finished.'_  she thought and started forward.

The central room was quiet and Avery felt the nervousness in her stomach fade slightly. It seemed that Splinter and the turtles had gone out. The young woman slowly made her way around and glanced now that there was no one watching her. She noted the quirky things that she hadn't noticed when she had first arrived.

A couch and chair made out of stacked pizza boxes sat in front of an odd jumble of different sized televisions that looked like they were put together in a game of Tetris. One of the ones in the right-hand corner was obviously busted with the glass shattered as if it had been punched while several of the others looked like they were held together with nothing but duct tape.

Avery's gazed wandered from the eccentric living area to the extremely messy looking kitchen.

A sparse amount of pots and plates sat unwashed in the sink along with what looked like a small, rusty motor of some sort. Pizza boxes sat in towering stacks on the counter that looked like they were about to topple over. What looked to be motor oil stained the rickety kitchen table that sat with five mismatched chairs varying from a rolling computer chair to a foldable metal one.

With a small sniff, Avery's eyes finally fell on the more organized looking matted area that occupied the area of the floor that was an upraised platform. The floor was covered with an assortment of old rugs that were frayed and several had holes plastered over with duck tape. It looked to be some sort of dojo.

Three training dummies stood off to the side while it was mirrored by a large wooden rack filled with different types of weapons on the opposite side. Carefully, the young woman wheeled her way down and followed her curiosity over to the rack of weapons. Avery had never really been around weapons before and she would be the last person to be involved in anything violent.

She had two step brothers that had used to take karate lessons and constantly were involved in paintball but that was the only things that Avery had actually ever been around in her lifetime. Unless you counted the one semester of power yoga that she took in college.

She gazed wide-eyed at the array of weapons ranging from the elegant to downright scary looking.

There were katanas and other blades of varying shapes, bo staffs, the three-pronged weapons that the turtle Raphael used, along with many others that Avery couldn't name. She wheeled along until she came to the end of the rack where there was a row of nunchucks.

"Those babies are sweet huh?"

Avery started so hard she could have sworn her wheelchair left the ground. She whipped around at the voice and stared wide-eyed at its source. Chuckling behind her was Michelangelo, crouching up on the railing that ran around the upper level of the sewer. With minimal effort he slid down the railing and flipped to the ground, barely making a noise despite the fact that he was a giant turtle.

"Tada!" he exclaimed before trotting over to stand in front of Avery.

The young woman was still somewhat shocked at Mikey's sudden appearance and as he approached she automatically grabbed the wheel of her chair.

The turtle noticed though and seemed to get the hint, stopping several feet away.

"Sorry if I scared ya," he said, his smile fading slightly and he self consciously rubbed the back of his neck.

Avery shook herself and forced her hand to let go, "No it's ah...alright. Just startled me that's all."

There were a few moments of silence in which Michelangelo looked around as if searching for some subject of conversation to latch onto.

Avery did the same though she was looking more for a reason to get back to her closet of a room. Her eyes wandered back over to the rack of weapons and noticed that a pair of nunchucks were missing along with several other empty spaces. She looked back over and saw that the weapons seemed to be on the turtle's waist.

"You use those things?" she finally asked softly.

At this, the turtle's face lit up and he promptly removed the weapons from his belt with a flourish.

"Yep! Been using them ever since I could walk. Master Splinter taught us all how to use different weapons. 'Course, I got the best ones." he said with a smirk.

With that he leaped forward onto the center of the upraised ground, the nunchucks swinging at a rapid pace. Mikey began leaping and flipping in a complicated series of moves while continuously spinning his weapons around his head.

Avery had to admit that despite her wariness she was somewhat impressed by how well the turtle handled the weapons.

As Mikey continued, the moves progressively got more and more complicated and the young woman couldn't help but be entranced by the precision. There were several times that Avery thought Mikey would catch himself on his nunchucks or misstep but he always recovered. With one last leap, the orange-clad turtle came to a halt, barely out of breath as he straightened up and replaced his weapons in his belt.

"That was _cool_ ," Avery said, slightly amused as Mikey gave an exaggerated bow.

Consequently, as the turtle stood up and took a step forward his foot caught on one of the many frayed rugs. Without an ounce of the gracefulness that he had just demonstrated moments before Michelangelo fell off the platform with a thud.

"Ow..." he said, his voice sounding muffled by the rug.

Suddenly, a soft burst of giggles echoed throughout the lair as Mikey picked himself up. He looked up in surprise to see Avery trying to hold in the bout of laughter. He himself couldn't help but grin as he readjusted his headband self consciously.

Avery took a deep breath and tried to compose herself, though she allowed herself to keep smiling. The bout of giggles had surprised her much as it had surprised the turtle. It had been a long time since she had found a reason to laugh.

"So uh yeah, that was fun." Mikey laughed, walking up to Avery who couldn't help but nod in agreement.

She was about to answer when her stomach gave a rather loud rumble and she put a hand to it in mild embarrassment. This time it was the orange banded turtle's turn to laugh and he pointed jerked a thumb behind him.

"Suppose dudettes gotta eat. You like pizza?" Avery cocked an eyebrow.

_'Pizza for breakfast?'_ she thought but her stomach seemed to agree as it gave another gurgle.

Mikey laughed again before turning to approach the messy kitchen, grabbing the topmost pizza box off the swaying stack.

_'Well then...'_  Avery thought to herself as she wheeled forward.  _'This should be interesting.'_


	9. Visitors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery takes one step forward and three steps back it seems. Poor Donnie, he was just trying to be friendly but ends up chasing Miss Scaredy Pants away. April is finally introduced as well!

Avery blinked rapidly to try and keep herself awake, though that was a feat in it of itself since she was only running on about four hours of sleep. At the moment she was sitting slightly behind the pizza box couch supposedly watching Michelangelo play some very violent video game.

Personally, she wasn't very interested in the game but it was hard to say no to the hyperactive turtle when you had limited mobility. She had only just managed to convince him that she didn't want to play the video game and would much rather watch. As Avery looked up a very bright explosion went off as the turtle's character set off a grenade and charged through a hailstorm of alien bullets with a whoop.

"Take that alien scum!" Michelangelo roared, mashing the buttons on the controller so that his character did flip across the screen.

Avery smiled despite herself just as there was the sound of a door opening. Her hands went to the wheels of her chair and she turned to see Donatello's lab door open. The purple banded turtle came out, holding some sort of circuit board and using a screwdriver very close to his face.

He seemed to be mumbling something to himself and didn't even glance at Avery or his brother. Instead, his walked straight to the kitchen put the screwdriver between his teeth before reaching up to grab a mug from one of the cabinets. Don took the mug and filled it with black coffee from the pot to his left and then dumped a good five spoonfuls of sugar into it. Without even so much as pausing to blow on the steaming liquid, the purple-banded turtle took a sip.

From there he followed his own wandering path back to his lab before closing the door slowly him with a snap. Seeming completely enthralled in his own little world.

"Well then," Avery muttered, glancing over at Mikey who continued to be blow up screaming aliens, one of them collapsing after another massive explosion.

Michelangelo was completely absorbed in his game and didn't even react to Avery waving a hand.

Taking that as permission, the young woman wheeled her way over to the lab door, curiosity urging her forward. Normally, she would have stayed away from a place that had a high risk of exploding. The nagging thought that this was where her test results were was the only thing that kept her going forward. She saw that the lab door was partially left open and intermittent flashes came from behind it as if someone was soldering. Every so often there was a loud snap or pop that went along with the flashes that would make the young woman jump.

Cautiously, Avery opened the door just wide enough to get through and peeked around it, her hands gripping the wood until they turned white. She saw the dark silhouette of Donatello seated at a large workbench, his form outlined by the intermittent flashes that seemed to come from directly in front of him.

The young woman watched for a few more moments, all the while her will to continue forward dwindling away with each burst of sparks. She had never been known to go out of her comfort zone and didn't see a need to do so right at this moment.

_'Maybe I'll come back later...'_ Avery thought, retreating a few inches.

She was just about to turn and leave, maybe go back to her little room when the door knocked loudly against her wheelchair, making her heart jump. The sparks stopped as Donnie looked up, his eyes widening as he saw Avery.

"Oh...hello!" he said, sounding genuinely surprised by Avery's presence.

The young woman gave a nervous smile, "Hi...sorry if I'm disturbing." she jerked a thumb over her shoulder.

"Didn't think you were busy...I-I'll come back later."

The turtle returned the smile, though he seemed much more genuine. "

"If you want you can come in, just fiddling around with this." he held up the same bunch of wires and scrap parts that he had been playing with when he got coffee.

Avery didn't know what else to say and simply rolled into the semi-dark room, her eyes wandering the shelves that lined every wall. They were filled with everything from small motors to what looked like circuit boards and masses of wires. Here and there was the occasional complete machine like a printer or clock, though they didn't seem to function.

"Are you feeling better?" Avery looked back over at the purple banded turtle who's attention had gone back to the machine he was fiddling with.

The question surprised her, up until Mikey had actually approached her earlier that morning Avery assumed the turtles didn't want her there any more than she did but so the young woman had been pleasantly surprised.

"I'm alright," she answered quietly, wheeling her way over to the workbench though she kept her distance.

The turtle made a noise as if he didn't quite believe her but didn't say anything else as he began to tighten another screw.

Avery cocked an eyebrow, "What?" she dared ask.

There was a moment of quiet in which Donnie finished tightening the screw before he glanced over at Avery, an amused expression on his face.

"Are you  _really_  okay?"

It surprised the girl even more that the purple banded turtle seemed genuinely curious as to her condition. In the same way that Michelangelo seemed genuinely interested in being friendly. Slowly, the girl shrugged and shook her head.

"I'm alive aren't I?" she shrugged.

At this, Donnie laughed, "At least there's that. Though I'm glad you're up and about, staying put in a wheelchair without getting adequate exercise can lead to muscle deterioration and depression." the turtle started talking more as he fiddled with his invention, gaining speed with every word.

Avery had to really concentrate to understand every word that started to pour from the turtle's mouth as he continued to talk about different medical conditions. At first, she thought that maybe he was actually trying to tell her about certain things. But, as the turtle began to go into how he could probably make a much cooler wheelchair did Avery realize he was rambling.

The young woman had to admit, it was sort of nice to just listen to the words and not really respond. For the past month, all she had to listen to was the TV and her cat, so hearing somewhat coherent speech was a nice change. 

"It'd be neat to see what boosters could do an-" the turtle stopped mid-sentence, realization blooming across his face.

"Sorry!" he laughed slightly and pushed the glasses on his face up, "I talk too much."

Avery shook her head, "No, it was fine! You do know a lot about different things. Where'd you learn about medical and mechanical stuff...down here?"

Donatello looked thoughtful for a moment, obviously pleased to have someone to talk to as well who seemed somewhat interested.

"Well, Master Splinter taught us basic stuff in writing and math but left us to our own devices as we got older. Out of all of us, I liked the technical and scientific stuff more and it made sense to me. So, I read whenever we'd find a book in the trash or if someone lost one down here, I even started reading instructional manuals when there was nothing else. Because of all of that, I was able to figure out how to fix things when they broke." he shrugged, fully turning from his project to look at the dark-haired girl.

"So you're the one that fixes everything around here?" Avery glanced around at the cluttered shelves, understanding starting to dawn on her as to why someone might want three broken toasters.

Don nodded, "I fix things, make things we need, play doctor if I have to. Though you've seen that I'm no professional. Sometimes I try to invent different things that make life down here easier."

Avery didn't know what to say to that though the turtle didn't seem like he expected a response. It was interesting to learn more about how the turtles and rat had lived down here in the sewers for so long. It also started to show that each of the brothers was slightly different from the other. They each had a personality.

The purple banded turtle smiled before looking back down to the small machine sitting on the desk.

"What are you making now?" Avery asked, not recognizing the circuit board or mess of wires that somehow made sense to Donatello.

"It' s a motion sensor for outside the lair. Ever since we've moved our home I've had to revamp our security systems." he leaned forward and put down what looked like a pair of robotic goggles from on top of his head.

_'Security?'_ Avery remembered how Splinter had explained how someone by the name of Eric Sacks had tried to capture them for Shredder...whoever that was.

She shook her head and resumed watching the turtle work on the small device in front of him. The young woman watched as Donnie began connecting many of the wires with a surgeon's precision. Some of the wires were only the width of a sewing needle yet the turtle's thick fingers pinched them with ease. Soon only a few remained but they were much harder to connect.

"Damn..." he muttered suddenly as his finger slipped, a loud pop breaking the focused silence.

The turtle shook his hand which had apparently been shocked by the slip-up and sat back, an annoyed look flashing across his face.

"Wish I had a third arm..." he grumbled before standing up and going over to one of the cramped shelves.

Avery watched as the turtle dug through the random supplies that occupied the space until he brought out a pair of pliers.

Once more, Donatello tried to attach the two wires, this time holding them together with the pliers before reaching over to grab a soldering gun. The device sparked again leaving the turtle thoroughly irritated as he dropped the pliers.

"Do...do you need help?" Avery asked out of habit, the words leaving her mouth before she could stop them.

The turtle glanced at her and his irritation faded as he seemed to think.

"Can you hold the pliers steady while I solder them?"

The young woman nodded slowly, praying that she somehow didn't get electrocuted or screw up the turtle's invention. Donnie reached over and picked up the fallen pliers and handed them to Avery, the young woman taking them as if they were poisonous.

"Just keep your arm steady and we'll be golden." the turtle said as he pointed to the wire that Avery should hold, an encouraging smile crossing his face.

"Grip the wire right where the rubber has been stripped."

She carefully gripped the small copper wire and clamped the pliers down, trying to keep her hand from shaking.

"Perfect." the turtle muttered as he brought the soldering gun down with a bright flash.

Avery closed her eyes as she waited for something bad to happen but as the flashing stopped she peeked open an eye. Looking down she saw that the two ends of the wire were now one seamlessly melded whole.

"Excellent!" Donatello said and smiled at Avery, "Thank you."

Then, in what seemed to be out of habit the turtle reached over and put a hand on the young woman's shoulder. Avery couldn't help it and instinctively flinched, pulling away as if she had been stung by a bug. The turtle seemed surprised by her reaction and opened his mouth to say something when Avery quickly back up her chair and turned.

"Sorry..." she said quietly and left the room as quickly as she could, leaving a confused Donatello with his hand clamping only air.

* * *

 

"One iced caramel coffee please." April smiled at the cute cashier behind the coffee shop counter as she handed him the money for her drink.

The young man handed the woman her change and returned the smile with a wink, "No problem. That'll be right up."

The woman sighed and appreciated the normality of the situation for once as she watched the bustle of everyday life.

She seemed to be one of the many bright young women that went about their promising lives in New York City. People came and went from the shop, ordering a coffee and the occasional doughnut. An elderly man sat in the corner reading the afternoon paper.

It had been a good week since she had last seen her reptilian friends and over a month since they had defeated the Foot and Sacks.

Now the clan was struggling to get itself together and Eric Sack was doing the same with his company while fighting off criminal charges. Of course, April was still out of a reporting job since she hadn't revealed the turtles but it was well worth it to her. At least she had an interview with a small company who needed a secretary/errand runner later that day.

"Here's your coffee." the same cute guy behind the counter said with a brilliant smile a few minutes later.

"Thanks." April smiled back and took the coffee, noticing that there was writing on the side of the cup as she exited the shop.

It was a series of numbers; a phone number.

"Vern would be appalled," she muttered but grinned at the same time.

The cameraman had subsequently been fired from the new company as well since he (along with Michelangelo's help) had trashed two company cars within a week. He had found a new job at an antique store though and was doing well enough for himself.

April took a sip of her coffee as she turned down a small side street that was a shortcut to her now empty apartment. A week after the incident with Sacks her apartment mate, Taylor had moved back with her parents because she,  _"Needed some space."_

April wasn't really complaining but paying for an apartment in NYC wasn't cheap. Her lack of a steady job wasn't helping either. With a sig, the young woman walked up the three flights of stairs that led up to her apartment before rummaging through her purse for her keys.

She was about to push the key into the lock when the door moved inwards slightly.

It was already open.

Immediately, April felt the hair on her neck stand on end. She remembered locking the door that morning before she left so what was it doing open?

_'Maybe Taylor came back to get something?'_ she thought to herself as she silently pushed the front door the rest of the way open.

April listened carefully and looked for some sort of weapon, her heart thumping in her ears. She grabbed the umbrella sitting in the corner and put her purse and coffee to the ground. She stepped forward, her feet padded by the carpet.

There was a soft thump somewhere ahead and the woman froze, her grip tightening on her 'weapon'.

"Taylor..." she whispered as she turned the corner to go into the living area, seeing no one.

"Nope, that was a good guess though." April whipped around at the voice and hoisted her umbrella up, ready to strike.

She was about to swing when she saw who was standing behind her.

"Raph!?" she growled, seeing the turtle's face turn up with a crooked smirk.

"Nice to see ya to sunshine," he quipped, glancing at the still upraised umbrella.

April rolled her eyes and for good measure whapped the red banded turtle on the shoulder before throwing the umbrella onto a chair.

"Hey! Wha' was that for?" Raph's huffed as April went back to get her bag and coffee, looking humorously offended.

"For you sneaking into my home!" she said back, trying to hide her own smirk.

As scared as April was by the turtle's sudden appearance she was glad to see one of them again. As nice as normal was she was never one for the ordinary things, they weren't nearly as fun to deal with.

"I thought we were family?" Raph followed the young woman into the kitchen and she turned to glare at Raph with a raised eyebrow.

"Family doesn't sneak into other family's houses. They call ahead or at least knock on the door."

At this, the red banded turtle simply shrugged as his smile came back, "I knocked on da window. No one was home so it's your fault that cha don't lock ya windows."

April sighed before putting her stuff on the kitchen table, "I'm on the ninth floor, I shouldn't have to lock my windows."

Raphael gave a chuckle before glancing around the kitchen as if he realized that he was actually inside a dwelling place outside of a sewer.

"So this is your little pad huh?" he turned to look at the living area, not seeming impressed.

April nodded, "Yeah, you're lucky that my apartment mate moved out. She would have freaked is she saw you."

"What I woulda paid ta see dat." the turtle laughed.

The young woman rolled her eyes in good humor before sitting down and sipping her coffee.

"So what are you doing up here Raph? Where are the others?" April asked, putting her drink down before tying her hair back out of her face.

The red banded turtle's good mood shifted at this, his smile vanishing almost instantly. He leaned back against the counter, making it creak.

"Needed ta get outta there for a bit. Git some fresh air ya know," he mumbled, crossing his massive arms.

April gave the turtle a look, fully aware that this wasn't the entire truth. Raph didn't say anything for a few moments and refused to look at his friend, resembling something like a mad child. Finally, after the silence had gone on for a solid minute April huffed.

"Raph, what happened? If something bad happened I want to know."

The turtle growled as he rolled his eyes, not enjoying being scolded.

"It's nothing bad, just frustratin'." he sighed.

April nodded, "Okaaay and?"

The turtle ground his teeth before shooting the woman a dangerous look, "Ya ain't my parent April so stop actin' like it."

Silence followed this comment as both Raphael and April stayed in their positions with their arms crossed. Both perfectly content to sit in this state of perpetual bullheadedness. The turtle glared a hole in the ceiling while the woman sat staring in expectation with a raised eyebrows. Finally, Raph sighed and his stony expression faded.

"Why are ya so stubborn!?"

April smiled briefly before getting serious once more, "I learned from the best. Now, what's wrong?"

The red banded turtle shook his head before looking back over at the woman, trying not to get too worked up.

"It started two days after the big fight we had with ol' bucket head. Leo had come home an' said that he needed ta show us all somethin'. Next thing I know there's some half-dead girl in the sewer." he started off, recounting the day that they had found Avery.

He continued by quickly running through how the girl had woken and how she had randomly gotten worse and had to be taken to a hospital. From there Raph told of how she had come back after a month for some reason that he hadn't stayed around to find out.

"Whatever she wants I don't need to be messin' around innit. The others got it covered," he said the last part in a mutter.

For a few moments, April sat in quiet contemplation, trying to put together the pieces that Raphael had just placed before her. It was odd to think that someone besides Vern and herself now knew about the turtles and Splinter, though with the increased activity they had above ground she wasn't necessarily surprised.

"You didn't stick around to find out what she needed?" April finally asked, not all the sure why Raph seemed so worked up.

"Nope! Left last night and haven't gone back yet. Hopefully, she's back ta her nice little life." he said with indifference.

The woman shook her head but didn't respond, at least she had gotten this much out of the normally closed off turtle. She was about to ask another question when a knock came outside the kitchen, making April jump.

"Uh-oh." Raph straightened up and his hands went to the sai at his side.

The young woman stood and put a hand on his shoulder, "Just relax, it might just be a girl scout or something. Just stay out of sight."

Raphael laughed, "I'm a ninja, that's my job."

April walked out of the kitchen/living area and took a breath before walking up to her door and opening it. She had been expecting some sort sales person, girl scout, or maybe even a religious group looking for donations but not an empty hall.

There was no one there.

"Hello?" April said softly, looking down the deserted hallway before shutting the door.

The knock came again but this time the woman realized that it wasn't coming from the front door it sounded like it was coming from the window. She whipped around and looked out the large window the was behind the living room chair, her mouth forming a perfect 'o' as she saw who hung outside.

"Leo?"


	10. Comfort Zone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April tries to talk some sense into both Avery and the turtles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just looked back and saw that I never published this chapter and only saved it as a draft. WhooPs! So I'm assuming chapter 11 didn't make much sense, hopefully, now it does/

"April!" Michelangelo exclaimed as the lair entrance opened and April, Leo, and Raph walked in.

 The woman smiled as the youngest turtle came over and almost crushed her in a hug.

"Hey, Mikey," she said, as the turtle stepped back and looked past her.

"You found Raph too!" he said, surprised.

The red banded turtle stared at the floor, his arms crossed as if he was unwelcome in his own home. 

April nodded, "He sorta found me but yeah. He told me about what's going on down here with your new friend. Leo mentioned that you all thought that her talking to me might help her get acclimated better?"

Michelangelo sighed, "Yeah, it's been interesting. She actually just went back into her room."

At this Leo looked up as he came over, his brow furrowed as he heard what his younger brother had said.

"Did something happen?"

The orange-clad turtle shrugged, "Dunno, she had gone into Don's lab. I'd ask him, bro."

April and Leonardo shared a glance before turning to walk towards the lab's door just when it opened. As if on queue Donatello came out with a puzzled look on his face as he adjusted the glasses on his face. He turned and looked over the new arrivals, his concerned softening when he saw April.

"Hey Donnie," the woman waved, trying to seem pleasant.

"Hey, welcome back April." The purple-clad clad turtle's gaze moved behind April to look at Leo, his gaze desperate.

"What happened? Mikey says that the girl hasn't come out of her room since coming out of your lab," he asked, glancing at the covered doorway.

Donatello's face fell and he pushed his glasses up on his face nervously.

"I'm not sure what set it off but she had actually been with Mikey for a few hours before she came into the lab. We just kinda talked for a bit, then when I was having difficulty soldering the new motion sensor together she actually helped then-"

There was a pause in which Don took a breath but was quickly interrupted by a panicked outburst from Leonardo.

"Please tell me that you didn't electrocute her Don!" Leo exclaimed.

The purple-clad turtle scowled, "No! I'd never- just listen, Leo!" he said with a withering look at his older brother, who gained his composure once again.

"She helped me fix the sensor and...well I just did this." he demonstrated putting his hand on April's shoulder.

"She just...sort of freaked out."

April glanced down at the green, three-fingered hand before looking over at the darkened corner of the room where the covered doorway sat. She was no psychologist and had no idea out of the hundreds of different reasons this girl could be freaking out. But April took a deep breath and headed towards the doorway.

* * *

 

_'Why?'_  Avery thought to herself as she sat in her small room, trying to convince herself that she really wasn't hiding.

_'Why do they scare me so much?!'_ she demanded of herself but no explanation came to mind.

The young woman sat in the semidarkness, trying to calm her still pounding heart and her hand crept up to feel the bumps on the side of her neck. To her horror it felt like there were more of them than there had been a day before. Avery shivered and took her hand back, feeling fear knot up her stomach. Instead, her arms crept around herself as she hugged her shoulders. She had never had a panic attack before but she wondered if this is what it felt like.

Pounding heart. Feeling sick. Racing thoughts. Wanting to run.

Yes, she would sometimes be squeamish or afraid but what Avery was feeling right then was far more powerful than being frightened, she was thoroughly terrified to be near the turtles. It had dissipated when she had hung around Michelangelo but he hadn't actually touched her. It was as soon as Donnie's hand had contacted her shoulder the fear had come back with a vengeance.

The sudden sound of voices roused Avery out of her almost comatose state and she slowly unwrapped her arms from around herself. The young woman tried to listen carefully to the voices but they were speaking in hushed tones so Avery could only make out murmurs. 

The voices died down and then the sound of footsteps approached. Avery tensed, not wanting to try and explain what had happened earlier to Leonardo or Splinter. The steps stopped right outside of the doorway, Avery's eyes glued to the cloth door.

"Hello?" Avery's eyes widened as she heard the voice of a young woman.

"Ye...yes?" she answered quietly, her voice shaking slightly.

"Hi, my name is April O'Neil. I'm a friend of the turtles." the voice seemed relieved as the woman continued to introduce herself.

"Would I be able to come in?"

Avery's confusion deepened,  _'So someone else does know about these things.'_

"Alright..." the young woman said, the shakiness fading from her voice.

Slowly, the curtain moved aside and a slim, dark-haired woman around Avery's age stepped through. She smiled kindly as the curtain fell back into place behind her.

"Hello," she said softly and held out a hand.

Carefully, Avery shook hands and tried to smile back, though she wasn't all that successful. She watched as April straightened up and her eyes widening as she caught sight of the wheelchair, she didn't say anything though.

"So you're a friend of these turtles?" Avery asked and April nodded with a shrug.

"Yeah, more like family but that's a long story. But I have to say I'm a bit more interested in how you came to meet them." the woman walked over to sit on the edge of the cot.

Avery turned and felt the apprehension in her stomach dissipate slightly at the prospect of talking to an actual human being.

"It's weird to think that someone else knows about these things," Avery said softly, folding her hands in her lap.

April nodded with a smile but allowed the other woman to continue.

"Well...they actually rescued me after I had been hit by part of a collapsing building a month or so ago. They patched me up before taking me to a hospital." she started off, fiddling with her hands in her lap.

"I had almost convinced myself that it was some sort of dream when two days ago I found these …" Avery pulled her messy hair back to reveal the scale-like bumps that ran down her neck.

At this, the woman's eyes went wide as she looked at the bumps, torn between surprise and curiosity. This was something totally new for April.

"I came down here to try and get some answers but right now they don't know what's causing the scales. Donatello's running some sort of test that will take another few days or so..." she finished.

There was a long moment of contemplative silence in which Avery felt relief flood through her as her story came out. It felt good to be able to finally talk to someone who wasn't green and scaly.

"I'm still trying to convince myself this isn't a bad dream..."

April cocked her head slightly, sympathizing with Avery. It definitely was a lot to take in especially for someone who seemed content with a normal life as Avery seemed to be.

"I understand that it's strange to think that giant mutant turtles are living down here. That's no reason to be afraid though."

Avery shrunk back slightly, "Who...who said that I was afraid!" she snapped, not meaning to sound mean but the sudden turn in conversation made the memories from earlier resurface. The woman blinked at this sudden outburst but wasn't deterred. If anything this seemed to fuel her urge to continue the conversation. She took a breath trying not to get defensive of the turtles quite yet, they were her family though and April didn't like how Avery kept addressing them at "things."

"What's your name?"

"...Avery..." she said rather grudgingly.

April nodded, "Avery. Those  _'things'_  as you put it aren't just animals or monsters. They're only trying to help you."

At this Avery crossed her arms. She knew that the turtles were trying to help but how could she just act like they were normal. How could anyone just accept that these turtles were normal?!

"Look, I am grateful for what these guys have done and I'm trying my hardest to show that. They saved me life twice and are helping find out what's wrong with me! But I can't help how I feel, it's not natural!"

There were a few moments of silence in which April looked at the young woman in surprise and Avery realized that this was the most she had spoken at once in almost a month. After a few seconds, the young woman sighed and put her head in her hands, trying not to let the tears in her eyes show. There was shuffling and she tensed when she felt a hand on her shoulder, though this time she knew it was April.

April was wrestling with her own emotions, trying not to get irked that Avery seemed so immovable while at the same time making sure that she knew that they were only trying to help.

"I know that this is tough...but I promise that they aren't as scary as they seem Avery." she said softly.

Avery looked up and took a breath, not sure what she was feeling at the moment. All she was sure of was that she wanted to go home and forget that anything ever really happened. At this point, April knew that the girl was the one that would have to make the decision whether or not to accept the turtle's help or not.

She couldn't force her to make friends with them. "If you ever need someone to talk to though I'm always around..." she added, with a kinder tone.

April was about to leave when she felt a hand on her wrist.

"I'll try..."

This made the woman smile and she nodded, "You can do it. Try to look past the scales." she laughed and then left, leaving Avery to figure out where she stood.

"So, is the dudette okay," Mikey asked as April reappeared from the behind the covered doorway, and she shrugged, giving a half smile.

"She's scared and unsure of what's going on, though you can't really blame her. She's been through a lot." the woman started off, getting varied looks from each of the turtles.

Mikey nodded in agreement, Leo seemed to go deep into thought as if remembering how they had first found Avery. Donatello looked almost ashamed that he caused the young woman even more distress while Raph seemed to be trying his hardest to ignore the fact that they were talking about another human being.

"What she needs is proof that you aren't just mutants or creatures. Let her know that you aren't just all 'stoic ninjas'.." April gave a slight grin and used air quotes with the last two words.

At this, all the turtles but Mikey seemed thoroughly confused and April rolled her eyes.

"Let her get to know you guys!" she finally sighed, crossing her arms.

"Say hi, try to make her feel welcome. Sort of what Mikey and Don were doing earlier except for the whole her freaking out part." she jerked a thumb at the orange-banded turtle who smiled brightly.

Leonardo sighed and shook his head, almost amused at the prospect that his friend had just set before them.

"And if that doesn't work?" he finally asked, crossing his own arms over his plastron.

April raised an eyebrow, "Don's running a test to try and figure out what wrong with her right? You'll just have to deal with it until then." she finished, feeling like a parent with four particularly stubborn children.

At this, the turtles seemed to accept that this was something that couldn't be ignored for too much longer, though Raph was determined not to look up from the floor.

"We'll try April!" Mikey said, glancing at his brothers as he said it.

There was a muttered grumble of agreement and the huddle seemed to break up as Donnie and Raph started to go about their own tasks.

"You want a guide back home?" Leo asked, gesturing to the lair door.

The young woman nodded, her mind still going over what had happened and praying that something good would come of it. As April and Leo walked towards the door they passed Raphael and the woman put a hand on his massive shoulder, stopping him.

"Raph, I know that out of everyone you're not a fan of this situation."

A grunt was her only reply but April kept going.

"But can you at least try?"

Again a short grunt before the hulking turtle walked off towards his room. Leaving April to follow Leo out of the lair.


	11. Learning to Listen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery gives making new a friends a shot, cause why not!?

Avery spent a good portion of the rest of the night sitting on the mattress staring at the piece of fabric that covered the doorway. She remembered what April had said but simply couldn't muster the will to go through with it.

The issue wasn't just that she was afraid of the turtles; they were slightly scary in appearance but it wasn't their looks that freaked the young woman. It was like when a person looks at a spider. There isn't any rational reason to fear it, the person just has the innate fear of the creature. It was the same with the turtles for Avery.

It wasn't until she caught her eyes drooping did Avery realize that she was actually very tired and unwillingly let loose a wide yawn.

_'If I am going to at least try to be friendly I should get some sleep…'_  she reasoned with herself and slowly laid down.

At first, she lay just staring at the blank wall opposite her until very slowly Avery drifted off into a deep sleep, her exhausted body not giving her any other choice.

* * *

The next morning Avery woke with a start, her dream of falling into the sewer clawing at her sleep addled brain. It took several seconds to recognize her surroundings but even after that her chest rose and fell like she had just run a race. After another few seconds, the young woman caught her breath and gave up chasing the remnants of her dreams. Letting the trailing bits of them fall away like dead leaves in the wind.

Avery looked back up and saw that outside her room it still seemed dim out and she thought that it must be fairly early in the morning. For a moment the woman considered trying to fall back asleep but dismissed it at the prospect of being able to maybe go out of her room without any of the turtles being up and about.

With a little effort, Avery pulled her wheelchair over and lifted herself up, pleased that it was getting easier to maneuver in and out of it. She didn't even bother trying to fix her obviously messy hair as she pulled the curtain aside and looked cautiously outside.

It was silent and most of the lights were put out around the lair. Avery felt a surge of relief at the prospect of being able to go around by herself. She didn't like being cooped up for so long so being able to move around was a blessing.

_'Maybe…I could go out and just leave.'_  Avery thought to herself and looked almost longingly at the closed lair entrance.

Creeping along, the young woman rolled out from behind the curtain and went on almost the same path that she had the day before when Mikey had introduced himself. Except, that instead of going down into the training area she went past it towards the door.

Avery kept as quiet as possible and started to bring her arm up to try and reach the pipe that was the secret latch. She had seen the turtles do it mutiple times through her door but saw that it was just out of reach. She sighed and stretched her arm, the pipe only an inch above her fingers.

"Damn…" she muttered, feeling a frustrated growl in her chest as she let her limb fall.

The young woman turned around and felt at a loss as for what she could do besides maybe go looking for something to eat for breakfast. The last thing that she had eaten was leftover pizza that Mikey had given her for lunch the other day. Avery was just passing by the training floor and happened to look over, making her heart freeze.

Leonardo was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor. His eyes were closed and his hands were clasped peacefully in his lap as his shoulders rose and fell at a slow measured rate. A serene look plastered on his face.

Avery tried to keep her breathing low as she rolled backward and started to turn back around. She prayed he hadn't heard her as she turned and began to head back to her room when a soft voice broke the silence.

"You're more than welcome to stay."

Avery froze and twisted around to see that the blue-masked turtle had cracked open one of his eyes while holding his meditative position.

"I didn't mean to disrupt you…" Avery said quietly, wringing her hands nervously.

The turtle gave a smile and closed his eye, "You didn't disrupt me at all. Though, the next time you want to try and leave it would be best to tell someone."

Avery felt her mouth open slightly in surprise, "How'd you-"

"How'd I know?" the turtle finished her question.

The young woman nodded and tentatively rolled forward, coming up to the edge of the training area. Leonardo relaxed his position and took a deep breath before he opened his eyes and looked up at Avery.

"Meditation lets one observe their surroundings without the use of sight. It enhances the other senses and calms the mind so that even the smallest things become apparent." He explained.

Avery stared, slightly confused as to how the whole thing worked but didn't question it. She more upset at the fact that even this early she wasn't allowed to be alone. The young woman looked on as the turtle stretched his arms above his head and cracked his knuckles. She wanted to leave but April's voice sprang to mind.

**_'I know that this is tough…but I promise that they aren't as scary as they seem.'_ **

Avery took a deep breath and straightened up, suppressing the intense urge to leave.

"You do this every morning?" she asked, crossing her arms.

The turtle nodded, a bemused look flashing across his face at the sudden question "I finish up around this time before breakfast. Then I start my other exercises."

"You get up earlier!?" Avery's eyes went wide which earned her another grin from Leo.

"Yes, I get up around four thirty."

The young woman simply stared in shock. Avery had to admit that she felt a grain of respect now for this turtle. He seemed very dedicated to being a warrior if nothing else.

At this Leonardo stood in one fluid motion before coming up from the training floor, giving Avery a respectful distance as he passed her.

"You want some breakfast?"

The young woman hesitated as she considered staying longer with the turtle, her fear gnawing at the back of her mind while hunger gnawed at her stomach. Finally, her stomach won out and she nodded slowly.

"Sure."

Leo carefully sat down at the old wooden kitchen table. He watched the girl across from him eye the rice that he had made warily and hid a smile as he began to eat his own meal. The turtle was trying not to immediately try to address the issue at hand of Avery not wanting to be around him or his brothers. Though he was surprised at the girl's own attempt at being social.

Normally, if there was an issue Leo liked to deal with it right away and have things in order as soon as possible. It was his job as the leader to settle disputes and put things right. So doing the opposite and taking things gently was something he had to get used to. Tact was something that he didn't get to practice much with four brothers.

"So before everything happened what did you do?" he found himself asking as he finished his breakfast.

Avery seemed surprised at the sudden question and at first, Leo wasn't sure if that was a good question to ask at first.

_'Maybe she won't answer.'_ He thought to himself as Avery fiddled with the spoon she had.

Leonardo watched as the woman put the spoon back into the uneaten bowl of rice and looked down at her lap.

"I was an assistant at a small printing company. I'd do errands and help the managers with paperwork." She said after a moment, looking up slowly.

Leo felt a flicker of hope at the spark of conversation and continued forward.

"Did you go to school? You're pretty young to be living on your own." He asked putting his elbows on the table.

Avery nodded in a slightly embarrassed way, "I graduated school early last year and came to New York to find a job. I found one after a few weeks and moved here permanently."

"You lived somewhere else before work?"

Leonardo was fairly interested in the idea of living outside of New York City. He had barely ventured outside the sewers let alone beyond the towering skyscrapers. So hearing about anywhere else was always exciting.

"Yeah." Avery started, getting an almost longing look in her eyes.

"I lived down in Virginia before coming up here. My mom's still down there along…along with my dad and step brothers." She finished, hesitating on the last part.

"Your father isn't with you?"

Avery hesitated once more and simply answered, "No."

Leo observed the change in the girl's demeanor at the mention of her father and decided it would be best to leave a sore subject alone. Especially with the slight break through of conversation still in the balance.

There were a few moments in silence in which Avery took a small bite of rice before replacing the spoon in the bowl. She seemed to gather herself and took a deep breath before looking up at Leo.

"You…you all have lived down here a long time?"

The turtle nodded, glad that the girl seemed dedicated to carrying on the conversation.

"Yeah. My brothers and I were raised by Splinter down here ever since we were little." He glanced around the lair with a slightly troubled look.

"Though this place itself is rather new."

Avery nodded, knowing that the turtles had said something about moving from the wrecked place that she vaguely remembered when she was injured.

"That Sacks guy…he's the one that made you have to move?" she asked softly.

Leo gritted his teeth as he nodded and answered, "Yes. Sacks and a man called the Shredder. They destroyed it in an attempt to cover their tracks."

Avery saw the anger that flickered briefly in the turtle's eyes and didn't want to push the subject, though the new name 'Shredder' sparked interest in the girl. But instead of pursuing the subject she simply started eating the remaining rice in the bowl in front of her.

It wasn't what she was used to in a breakfast but at least it was food.

For a little while, the two sat in silence as the young woman finished her food with Leo looking over the quiet lair. It was just as Avery was finishing up the rice did Leo stand and let out a short breath. He put his bowl in the sink that was already filled with a mix of a strange assortment of mismatched dishes and then made his way back over to the training floor.

_'How can he train so much?'_ she thought to herself as she watched the turtle snatch two of the deadly looking katanas off of the wall.

Leo took a stance in the center of the floor and stepped back. Slowly, he raised the blades one slightly further forward then the other as a look of intense concentration came over his face. Suddenly, like a rubber band being snapped the turtle struck with a sharp jab forward. In a fluid set of motions he blocked, kicked, and spun at an invisible enemy in front of him.

It was similar to Michelangelo's display with his nunchucks except it held more grace and control. The flashing silver blades reminisced of lightning bolts as they cut through the air with superhuman speed.

Avery watched in amazement as Leonardo spun to the side and gave a final slash downwards, his blades held at the ready once more. He stood statue still for a few more seconds before slowly straightening up and sliding his katanas into the sheaths on his back. The young woman rolled over and continued to watch as the turtle widened his stance with the same concentrated look and raised his hands this time.

Instead of using his weapons Leo punched and kicked with his eyes locked on the horizon. Avery could almost imagine the enemies falling to the ground as he jabbed a fist forward before leaping back into a flip. In a matter of minutes, the turtle had covered almost the entire floor as he paused and adjusted his stance.

He did this another few times, going from simple to very complex moves that involved minute changes that Avery almost couldn't see. This went on for almost another fifteen minutes, all the while the young woman watched in raptured fascination.

It was after the most skillful display that involved jumping up while kicking at the air did Leo come to a halt, his shoulders rising and falling as he caught his breath. He slowly straightened up and did a low, slow bow that seemed to signal that training with the invisible partner was over.

Out of reflex Avery suddenly found her hands coming together and she clapped softly, eliciting a surprised glance from Leonardo and he turned to face her.

"Oh." she said as she realized that she was probably interrupting the turtle's concentrating.

"Sorry…" she murmured, drawing back.

The masked turtle shook his head, "No it's fine! I'm glad you liked it, I guess I'm just no used to having people watching."

He gave an encouraging smile and Avery tried to return it, still trying her hardest not to just turn and leave.

"I'm almost finished anyway." The turtle continued, rolling his shoulders before going down to sit in the middle of the floor once more.

Avery slowly made her way over and saw that the turtle seemed to be preparing to meditate once more.

"You meditate a lot." She commented more to herself.

The turtle gave an amused huff as he settled down, "It centers the mind and tends to let me focus better for the rest of the day." He closed his eyes slowly.

Leo considered a sudden thought that struck him, wondering if perhaps he shouldn't say it but decided that it was worth a shot.

"You're welcome to try it out."

Avery cocked her head as she considered the offer, knowing that already she had done a lot to get outside of where she was comfortable. She still itched to go back to her room and wait out the remainder of the time before she could find out what was going on with her.

She rubbed her neck absentmindedly but felt a spark of determination as she almost gave into the temptation. A small voice protested in her mind, saying that she still had another three days until she could even do anything about her 'condition'.

"Sure." The word left the woman's mouth before she could do anything to stop them.

Avery rolled her chair down onto the training floor so that she was only a couple of feet away from Leo.

"What do I do?" she asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice.

The turtle shifted slightly so that he was sitting across from the girl and carefully put his hands on his knees.

"Just get into a comfortable position and close your eyes." He started off.

Avery took a breath before closing her eyes, carefully placing her hands in her lap as the world went dark.

"Now just pay attention to your breathing and listen to what's around you. Let yourself calm down." Leo said and the young woman took another breath, this time letting it out slowly.

Avery felt the nervous thumping of her heart and tried to take even breaths to slow it. She let the quiet noises around her to fade in and out. At first, all she felt was strange and foolish. The concept of simply sitting and listening was something forty-year-old women did in a yoga class, not something Avery would normally consider doing.

As the quiet went on and she listened closer, her heartbeat began to slow and she felt like she could hear more sounds come out of the woodwork. The clatter as a pipe somewhere overhead pumped water, the rumble of what could have been a subway somewhere in the distance, even what sounded like footsteps.

"Hey, guys."

Avery jumped at the voice and turned suddenly to see Donatello standing just outside of the training area. He wrung his hands and flashed a small smile as he glanced awkwardly in Avery's direction.

There was a deep intake of breath from Leonardo, "What's wrong Donnie?"

He continued to keep his eyes shut though, not seeming disturbed by his brother's appearance at all.

"Nothing's wrong, I was wondering actually if I could talk to…Avery."

The girl blinked in surprise and turned to face the turtle before her. He flashed another grin before clasping his hands together.

"Um…sure." She said after a moment and started rolling her way up out of the training floor.

Don turned and walked away from his brother and Avery raised an eyebrow, the sudden realization that this turtle was more afraid of her than she was of him.


	12. Raph Has No Filter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery bites the bullet and tries to be social but Raph calls her out for her selfish behavior.

"Sir are you sure about this?" the driver of the sleek black car asked, stopping in front of a hospital building.

Eric Sacks sighed, glaring out the window at the passers by.

"Yes, don't worry I won't be long."

With a deep breath the man stepped out of the car and onto the sidewalk, "Pull round and I'll be out in a few minutes." He told the driver.

The man nodded, pulling the car forward while Sacks turned and started towards the hospital entrance.

So far this week he had personally visited four other people on behalf of his company to try and settle the lawsuits against him while putting off the police investigations. This was the last spot on his list before he had to try and figure out what to do as far as paying off the suits. Swiftly, the man strode through the main doors and headed up to the front desk, his shoes clacking on the smooth tile floor.

"May I help you?" a large woman at the desk asked, her dark eyes peering up at Sacks.

He tried to flash his most winning smile as he leaned an elbow against the desk, the woman glanced at the elbow before staring Sacks down.

"Yes, I'm Eric Sacks and I was wondering if I could find out about a claim filed against me by this hospital?"

The woman's eyebrow went up at these words.

"The hospital does not file claims on behalf of our patients, we simply run it through their insurance and they do the rest. I'm sorry sir but I cannot give you our patient's information." She said matter-of-factly, her nails clicking away at a computer.

Sack's brow furrowed, "They how am I supposed to talk to the individual?"

The woman didn't look at him, "That isn't the hospital's concern sir. If you are really concerned you can talk directly to the insurance that contacted you."

At this, the winning smile vanished and was replaced by a sneer. Sacks didn't have time to talk to prerecorded messages of insurance companies and to be put on hold.

"Listen, I've been at this for weeks now. I need to find this patient of yours. Can't you give me a name or address?!"

At this, the clicking keyboard stopped and the woman fully turned to face Eric Sacks, her mouth set in a flat, stubborn, line.

"Sir. That is confidential patient information. We. Don't. Do. That." She stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sacks growled and clenched his fists, resisting the urge to slam them onto the desk. He noticed the strange looks he was getting from passersby and the stubbornness of the woman in front of him. He knew it wasn't worth it and stepped back, fixing his dark red tie.

"Thank you…ma'am." He grumbled before turning on his heel and storming out of the hospital.

He signaled the same sleek back car and slammed the door as he got in, his fingers tapping angrily against his leg.

"No luck sir?" the driver asked as he pulled back out into the flow of traffic.

Sacks simply let out a breath, "They were…strict on confidentiality."

The driver gave a nod as he turned, just narrowly missing a pedestrian on a crosswalk.

Eric stared out the tinted window, his thoughts going through the now narrow list of scenarios. He could simply pay the insurance and risk having to do the same to all the other cases, he could fight the lawsuits in general which would leave him with an almost as large lawyer bill, or he could do a little digging.

A resigned huff came from him as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "I guess digging it is…"

* * *

 

Avery stared up in surprise at the turtle before her, trying to organize her thoughts as the purple banded turtle waited expectantly. Moments before, Donnie had apologized for what happened the night before. In total honesty the girl had momentarily forgotten about the situation and felt guilty for not considering the turtle's feelings.

"No-I mean not no-but uh, its-its fine!" she blabbered quickly, unsure of what to say or do.

"I was the one who over reacted…you don't have to…"

At this the turtle's solemn demeanor lightened and he smiled as Avery trailed off, at a loss for words.

"Well." he laughed, "I'm glad that that's all settled then."

His dark brown eyes flashed to look behind the girl as Leo approached, a slightly amused look crossing his face before he went into another room.

It was the dull thud that drew Avery's attention though, along with what sounded like a sound of protest from Michelangelo. A few moments later both said turtle and Leo came out, Mikey seeming extremely grumpy.

"Dude…why…" he grumbled coming over to the kitchen table before slumping over with no grace what-so-ever.

"Come on Mikey, Splinter wants us to get back into training." Leo threw over his shoulder before going upstairs.

The younger brother groaned softly before looking up, his gaze landing on Avery and he sat up slowly.

"Oh,hey." He muttered, rubbing his face.

The young woman gave a slight laugh, "Morning. I assume that you've been out of practice?"

The orange clad turtle nodded, "With everything happening within the past few weeks, getting attacked and you showing up, has been messin' with our normal schedule like you wouldn't believe." He yawned, laying his head on the table.

Avery nodded, a pang of guilt running through her.

That's when a sudden, loud set of footsteps drew everyone's attention. Standing in the doorway was the hulking form of Raphael, his eyes glaring at the gathering around the kitchen table. The young woman felt all her previous inhibitions return as the red banded turtle silently walked passed, rummaging through the cabinets.

Donnie and Michelangelo shared a glance before watching their brother silently and aggressively make himself a bowl of cereal. Without a word the turtle shoved everything away before turning to trudge over to the pizza box couch and thudding down to eat his food.

"Good morning to you too." Donatello muttered sitting down across from Mikey, his brown eyes flashing behind his glasses.

Avery looked at the back of Raphael's head, confusion and uneasiness coming back in a wave. As far as she knew she had done nothing to upset the turtle. Yet, he treated her as if she were some sort of nuisance or enemy. The young woman was about to ask about it when the soft pad of footsteps attracted everyone's attention.

"Good morning Avery. I'm glad to see you out and about."

Avery turned and tried to smile at the humanoid rat that had appeared along with Leonardo. His dark eyes crinkled in a smile.

"M-morning." She stuttered.

The rat dipped his head before turning his attention back to the turtles.

"Today we will be venturing out into the sewers once more. So prepare yourselves my sons." He said sternly, earning a slight groan from Michelangelo.

Slowly, the orange clad turtle followed as his brothers began to pack up and prepare to leave. Avery watched as the turtles grabbed weapons off of the training wall along other supplies.

"You guys aren't staying here?" Avery asked, looking at Donatello as he strapped a bo staff to his back.

The turtle shrugged, "Every so often we go out and train in the sewers."

The young woman nodded, tension leaving her at the prospect that she would probably have at least a little while to herself. There was still that slight nagging anxiety that she was trying not to give in to, though it was getting harder.

"Do you want to come and watch?"

Avery turned to look at Mikey, feeling her chest tighten as he looked expectantly at her. Though she had to admit she was curious as to how the turtles trained.

"Oh, um." she hesitated, not meeting the turtle's blue gaze.

"I mean you-I-just a question...uh" Mikey watched the girl hesitate and rapidly waved his hands back and forth, making his brother's roll their eyes.

"What shell for brains means is that you don't have to if you don't want to." Don translated before turning to leave the training area.

Avery nodded, acknowledging the slight curiosity that tugged at her. She could withstand just a little longer of putting herself out there right…

* * *

 

Raph gazed across the dim space of the sewer, trying to ignore the annoyance burning at the back of his mind. He could feel the gaze of both his master and their guest sweep over them.

"Hajime!"

Without hesitation he leapt forward at the word, ducking as Donatello swept his staff upwards. He struck forward with his sai, bouncing off of the reinforced middle of his brother's weapon.

_'Geek has to tinker with everything…'_  the red banded turtle thought with a slight flash of humor.

He flipped back and set himself into a steady stance as his brother did the same. To their right Mikey and Leo went at it, their weapons jolting off of one another with metallic clangs.

With a growl Raph charged forward once more, eliciting a gasp from Avery who sat further back from the training in her chair.

The turtle couldn't help but roll his eyes and he caught Donnie's staff in the fork of his weapons.

_'Course she had ta come.'_ he thought to himself, bemoaning the fact that the girl was even still involved with them.

It was so obvious that she thought they were freaks and disliked even being near them. Raph couldn't understand the reasons for trying to be nicey-nice when it would better than the girl leave ASAP.

It was then that he was tugged from his train of thought by Donatello wrenching his bo staff free and knocking it roughly against his side, making Raph stumble. He tried to regain his balance but over extended his reach to block another swing. That left his middle wide open for Donatello's kick that sent him sprawling back to the ground.

"Dammit!" he growled as he rolled backwards, feeling his brother's weapon whistle by his shell.

Blindly, he lashed out a leg and caught Donatello's ankle, sending the purple clad turtle to the floor. With a growl his jumped up and put a knee to his brother's plastron, lowering his sai to be level with the bridge of the glasses he was wearing.

"Yame."

Raph sat up, grumbling that he let himself get distracted not even bothering help his brother. Donatello pulled himself up with a disgruntled look, rubbing his chest from where Raphel had pinned him down. Behind them there was a similar scene except that Mikey was trying to squirm his way out from underneath Leo's foot. Only to be stopped by the tip of a katana being pointed at his face.

Avery watched with wide eyes as the four turtles stood up in a line in front of Master Splinter, both Donatello and Michelangelo looking disgruntled at their losses.

"Well done my sons. You fought well despite the long interruption to our training."

The turtles all gave a slight bow at their master's praise though, Avery noticed the flick of a gaze that Raphel flashed at her. Once more she frowned at the unwarranted show of anger but turned her attention back to Master Splinter, who had started to talk once more.

"Donatello. you fought very well but you need to take advantages when they appear, hesitation in a real battle is not as forgiving."

He nodded, "Hai sensei."

"Michelangelo, you need more focus my son. You have much potential but…"

The rat hesitated, his left ear suddenly flicking backwards as his brow furrowed in concentration. The sewer was silent as everyone looked to statue still rat, his eyes narrowed to black slits as both his ears flicked. The four turtles shared a look before turning back to Splinter who was concentrating on something that no one else could hear.

"Sensei?" Michelangelo finally broke the silence, waving a hand at his master.

The rat's ears shot up as he seemed to come to, his eyes darting to each of his sons.

"Someone is in the tunnels." He hissed suddenly and the sewer seemed to grow cold.

"Is it the Foot Master Splinter?" Leonardo asked, his hand going for one of his katanas.

The rat shook his head, "I do not know my son, but we must head back to our home."

"But sensei! If the Foot are down here then we can't let 'em near our home again!" Raphael growled, spinning his sai expertly.

Splinter seemed to think before answering, "Raphel, we cannot allow the Foot to know that we are here in the first place. If…" he stopped for a second, ear flicking again.

"If it is truly them. But I cannot tell for certain who it may be."

Raph seemed to grin, "So recon?"

The turtle's sensei sighed, "I will accompany three of you but one of you needs to bring Ms. Avery back and scout out our home."

The rat's black eyes flashed as he glanced over at the girl, who folded her arms over her stomach. She wasn't fond of having to be given an escort.

"Raphel."

The red banded turtle's eyes narrowed and his fists clenched as his Master pinned him in place with the same dark stare.

"Go back home and make sure that they have not beaten us there. Make sure Ms. Avery is safe as well."

"But Master Splinter I-"

"That is not a request Raphel." The rat barked, his tail snapping back and forth.

"The rest of you, this way." He looked over at Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo.

The three other turtles nodded and followed their Master, flashing glances at the silently fuming Raph before disappearing down the dim sewer tunnel. Within just a few seconds Avery was left sitting across from the hulking figure of Raph.

The calmness that she had been able to muster up around the other turtles melted away and the nervousness came back with a vengeance. What was Raph going to do? Was he going to yell or threaten her again?

She felt her eyes go wide as the turtle approached, his hands still clenched into fists. But before she could say anything he simply stomped right past her, going back the way that they had come from the lair, muttering something about babysitting. Avery turned her chair around and realized that the turtle wasn't going to wait for her.

"Hurry up!"

The growl came from up ahead as Avery pushed her wheelchair forward, her hands shaking slightly. Luckily, the turtle didn't seem too keen on getting back home and Avery was able to catch up, following only a few feet behind Raphel's shell.

The sewer was eerily quiet as they continued forward, though the tension could be felt coming off Raph in waves. Avery felt the same spark of irritation at the turtle's coldness and the unwarranted hostility. Why did he seem so much angrier then the others?

The two continued forward through the pipes until they came to a junction that led next to a channel of water. The young woman wrinkled her nose at the smell of moistness and prayed that she'd be able to wash the smell out of her clothes when she got a chance. With a sudden jolt Avery hit a patch of slippery floor and felt her chair start to slide and tip, just like when she had first come down to find the turtles.

"Oh shit!" she yelped and plugged her nose in preparation to hit the water.

This time it never came.

With a wrench Avery was righted and she looked up to see that Raphel had grabbed the arm of her chair and righted it with a flick of his wrist.

"Th-thanks…" she panted, trying to calm her suddenly pounding heart.

The only acknowledgment that the turtle gave a snort of what seemed to annoyance as he turned back around and started walking once more as if nothing had happened.

The irritation grew into a burning feeling in her chest as Avery stared at the turtle's back as the burning bubbled out of her mouth.

"What is your problem?!"

The words were out of Avery's mouth before she could stop them. They echoed down the sewer as the red banded turtle halted and turned to look at the young woman with a sharp glare.

"S'cuse me?" he grumbled taking a step back towards Avery.

She swallowed but used the adrenaline already pumping through her veins to fuel her speech.

"Look, I don't expect five star service but can you at least stop treating me like some pest!? Ever since I dropped in here you've been looking at me like some animal." She almost shouted despite the shaking that had broken into her voice.

The turtle gave a bout of humorless laughter and Avery shrunk. Out of everything she wasn't expecting Raph to laugh.

"Oh,  _I'm_ the one who's been treatin'  _you_ like an animal? How long was it you were hidin' in your little hole? Shivering like you'd been cornered by monsters!" he growled back, his amber eyes narrowing.

At this Avery felt taken aback, she hadn't realized that she'd really done anything wrong.

"If you haven't noticed I've been kinda in the middle of mutating!" she shot back in defense, indicating the scales that continued to spread on her neck.

"HA!" Raphel broke out into a snarl.

"Welcome to the show chica, you've been a mutant fo' what…a few days? Try being one for eighteen YEARS!"

The turtle's voice had risen to a yell and echoed down the sewer. At this Avery felt the little bit of bravery she had mustered vanished as she looked at the turtle before her, his shoulders heaving.

"I-" she stumbled over words, "I didn't…"

Raph snorted, "You didn't what? Realize that you ain't ever been rejected in your perfect little life?! Never been looked at like a freak!"

Avery sat back at that comment, feeling like she had been stung. But the truth was undeniable, she didn't even realize that she was complaining about something that essentially had been someone's life. And out of all of them Raphael had been the only one to really pick up on it.

"How bout you try hiding from everyone up there cause they don't know what you are sometime!? Hiding cause they all think you look like a monster." Raphael pointed a finger accusingly at Avery.

There was a silence that followed the last comment, replaced by the fizzling anger that resonated from the turtle. The young woman didn't know what to say as she rolled backwards, shame and fear making her feel like an ant under a boot.

On an impulse she wrenched her chair around and began wheeling in the opposite direction, fighting the tears that were forming in her eyes. Avery refused to cry in front of Raphael but at the same time felt like she didn't care about anything anymore.

Raph watched the girl turn and take off down the sewer, anger and frustration fueling his shaking limbs.

"Yeah, you run…go back to your own life." He muttered, turning to walk in the opposite direction, gaining a slight sense of satisfaction.

He continued on a few steps but as he went further and further away, a feeling of uneasiness set in. Much to his annoyance, visions of his Master's disapproving looks flashed through Raphael's mind as he imagined them coming back to the lair with the girl long gone.

_'She deserved it!'_ He thought in his own defense.

The idea of the young woman getting lost in the maze of sewers or falling back into the rushing channel of water came to mind this time and Raph rolled his eyes, feeling like a babysitter with an unruly child.

"Pain in my ass…" he growled and stopped before turning to jog down the side of the sewer.


	13. Shit Get's Figured Out Then Hits the Fan

"How can that girl move so fast?" Raph scratched the back of his head in frustration as he turned another corner to see more plain old, empty sewer.

He trotted down the path next to the water, hoping that he didn't see a body float by. Luckily the water only seemed to contain bits of trash and a few leaves at the moment. Raph peered down another corner only to see that it ended in a brick wall and a grate filled with rushing water, nowhere for Avery to disappear to.

"Maybe she did just up and leave." he muttered, about to turn around and go back home.

_'Cause I'm gettin' real sick of hide 'n' seek.'_ Raph thought as he stopped and looked around.

"Dammit…stupid chair…shit…."

The turtle turned as the string of curses continued, coming from up ahead. He grumbled to himself as he got closer to the soft muttering and felt as if he were about to tell off Mikey. Raphael turned the corner and had to stop himself from smirking at the scene before him.

Avery had been able to find one of the many manholes that led up and out of the sewer. At the moment she was currently trying to pull herself up the rungs of the ladder without the aid of her immobile legs. It also appeared that her wheelchair had tipped over in the process, leaving her to cling to the ladder in a ridiculous position.

"What da hell?" the turtle could help but chuckle, drawing the young woman's attention.

Her face screwed up into a snarl though the effect was lost with her blotchy face and severely shaking arms. It looked like she had been crying.

"Go away!" she growled with a stuffed nose, trying once more to pull herself up to the fourth rung of the ladder.

The turtle would have gladly turned and left if not for the nagging sense of duty that had somehow found its way into his consciousness.

_'Jeeze this what Leo feels all the time?'_

"And wha' do ya think you're doing there?" he puffed, stepping up to the tipped over chair.

Avery didn't answer at first and simply continued to cling to the ladder rung. It wasn't until she had tried for the third time to reach the next rung did she relent and answer.

"I'm trying to get out of here! I'm sick of this stupid, stinking sewer and I'm sick of you guys!" she spat.

Raph rolled his eyes, "And how'er you gonna do that? You can't even get cha self up the damn ladder."

Avery ignored him and continued to glare straight ahead, her arms shaking even more.

"And Splinter calls me stubborn…" he grumbled, righting the wheelchair before going over to stand next to the fuming woman.

"Look 'ere Gimpy. You act like we're the ones that screwed you this whole time and have acted like ya deserve the world."

Avery's head shot up and she looked angrily at Raph, though she didn't disagree with what he was saying.

"Now tha' ain't a pretty truth but you need to realize that this is your situation. Make the best of it and stop thinking of us at animals."

It was strange, in the entire time that Avery been around Raphael he had barely spoken a word to her. Now, of all times, he decided to become quite the conversationalist.

The young woman looked back down, she knew what Raphael was trying to get out of her but she really didn't want to have to do it. The silence drew on and she realized that both she and the turtle could possibly be stuck here forever because of their stubbornness. As if to prove this Raph crossed his massive arms over his shell and continued to stare at her.

Avery rested her forehead against her shaking arm.

"What do you want!?"

Raph cocked a brow, "I pretty sure you know."

Avery forced air out through her nose and growled to herself. She had an idea what the turtle wanted but Avery didn't want to say the words. 

More silence stretches on until finally Avery opens her mouth, feeling her arms start to hurt.

"I'm sorry."

The words were soft but grudgingly said as the turtle uncrossed his arms, a light puff of laughter escaping from him. Without a word Raph stepped up and pushed the manhole cover up, peeking through the opening.

"Well, least ya didn't pick one in the middle of da street." He muttered, pulling himself up through the hole.

Avery looked up in surprise, she had expected that Raph was going to drag her back to the lair or just leave her where she was. The young woman watched as the turtle pushed the thick cover aside and pulled himself up through the hole.

"You want help Gimpy?"

Raph's question came from above and Avery looked up, squinting against the dim sunlight that was streaming through the manhole. She saw that Raph was leaning through the hold with an out stretched arm.

Avery tried not to flinch back, that feeling of dislike rising up at the sight of the green, scaley skin.

_'How can he expect me to do this?! It's not my fault that I'm freaked out.'_ She thought to herself as she almost slipped off the rung of the ladder that she was clinging to.

"I can leave ya here too if you'd prefer." Raph grumbled, his face obscured by rim of the manhole.

"Fine!" she shouted before shutting her eyes and she shakily reached up.

She tried not to flinch when the rough hand grabbed her arm and hoisted her upwards. It was strange; Avery had almost expected the turtle's hand to be slimy or gross. It was indeed bumpy and rough, but was dry like sandpaper.

The young woman did yelp in surprise though at the ease of which she was pulled upwards. She was a relatively small human being but she still weighed about hundred pounds. Within seconds Avery was pulled up through the manhole and into a small alley as if she weighed no more than a paperweight.

The woman looked up and couldn't help but smile as she was sat on the concrete and looked up at the partly cloudy sky for the first time in what felt like in forever.

"Move ya legs." Raph said softly, lifting the solid manhole cover easily as a child would lift a Frisbee.

Avery pulled her numb legs out of the hole and watched as the turtle recovered it without retrieving her chair.

"What about my wheelchair?" she asked, feeling silly at just sitting on the ground uselessly with the looming turtle overhead.

Raphael smirked, "You ain't getting rid of me that easily Gimpy. Besides it don't fit through the hole."

Avery felt her stomach drop and she groaned, "Awesome…"

The turtle shrugged while eyeing the end of the alley, he seemed much more wary out in the open air.

"Make ya choice fast, I can leave ya or I take ya to your house."

Once more the young woman saw that the turtle was cornering her with two unpleasant decisions, but the choice was obvious. She couldn't drag herself back to her apartment and she didn't want random people coming over to ask what had happened if they saw her trying.

"You're the worst!" she snarled, pouting like a small child.

Raphael simply smirked again, "Yep, that's me."

Avery winced as the turtle picked her up, though she grudgingly admitted it wasn't as gross as she thought it was going to be. Though, she could tell that the turtle was still trying to "punish" her for her past behavior.

"Now put cha hands together." He instructed and when Avery clasped her hands he put her arms around his thick neck and slid her behind him like a child getting a piggyback. So Avery sat with her hands around the turtle's neck with her head resting on the edge of his shell. It was slightly strange to have her legs hanging uselessly behind as Raph straightened up. It was also intimidating to feel the pure muscle move under her arms as the turtle started forward.

Avery yelped again as Raph grabbed a hold of the bars of a fire escape and started swinging upwards, jolting the young woman. At first she thought it was just the result of being a human backpack but when she heard the turtle's amused laughter she came to the conclusion that he was indeed doing it to freak her out.

"You alrigh' Gimpy?" he chuckled as they made it to the roof of the building.

"Stop calling me that!" Avery hissed back clenching her eyes shut, praying that she could hang on.

This only earned her another laugh, "Sure, when you get used to us maybe."

It was then that the turtle loped forward towards the edge of the building and jumped, landing heavily before repeating the action. Eliciting a sharp yell from Avery.

* * *

 

"Sir I believe we have found who you were looking for."

Eric Sacks looked up from his desk to see the intern Emily holding out a slim folder with his name on it. He had his most trusted investigator try and find the patient who was responsible for the claim posted by the hospital.

"Thank you." He said, immediately opening the folder to look at the few papers inside.

The three papers that made up the result of the digging gave a picture and name of a young Avery Ritz. Sacks smirked as he saw that both her address and phone number were posted beneath the picture. His digger had done an exceptional job. 

"Now if we can just get this out of the way my real job needs to be addressed." He muttered, shutting the folder.

"If you would, Emily, tell my secretary that I'll be out on a business venture. So I'll need to close my office down for the rest of the night." He stood and threw on a jacket, tucking the folder under his arm.

The blonde nodded, "Of course Mr. Sacks." She said before going out of the office.

The man straightened his tie and then strode out into the hall, locking the door behind him. He quickly checked his watch and saw that it was only four in the afternoon, plenty of time to talk a little girl out of suing him.

As he stepped into the elevator he opened the folder and read over the details of Avery Ritz. Unfortunately, the specific details of her injures were unknown but the amount of money that the insurance had put towards the lawsuit definitely confirmed that they significant.

The elevator dinged and Sacks stepped lightly out into the foyer of his building which seemed to be abandoned as a graveyard. Only the bored looking man at the desk remained, though he his mind seemed devoted to the game of solitaire that was on the computer screen.

Sacks ignored him though and quickly phoned his driver, telling him to pick him up at the front in five minutes.

Within minutes a sleek black car pulled around and Eric Sacks jumped into the back, slamming the door behind him.

"Where to sir?" the driver asked.

Sacks buckled himself in and smiled, "Fifteen Broad Street."

The driver nodded, "Of course sir."

* * *

 

"Can you put me down?!" Avery grumbled, "My arms are killing me."

Raphael muttered something abut halted on the current rooftop that he had landed on. The turtle knelt down and lowered the young woman to the ground before straightening up and stretching his arms above his head.

Avery groaned and rubbed her wrists, cursing her useless legs to no end. They had only been travelling for maybe fifteen minutes and her apartment was only a few more blocks but she didn't want to accidentally let go when Raph was going from building to building.

She still couldn't believe that the turtle was actually taking her home and was thankful for the miraculous turn of events. The young woman still had some stubborn resentment to the fact that he had made her apologize for something that she felt she had no control over though.

Avery sighed, glad at least for the change of pace and scenery. She looked out over the rooftops and couldn't help but appreciate the sense of freedom. What it must feel like for the turtles to run across them on a regular basis.

"You good to get moving Gimpy?" Raph asked, coming to stand behind Avery.

She scowled, "I  _told_  you to stop calling me that."

The turtle shrugged, "Nicknames ain't often picked."

Avery rolled her eyes at this, "And since when did you decide to give me a nickname? We aren't buddies are we?" she gave a mock smile.

"No, though I tend to give 'em out when I have a bone ta pick." The turtle replied crossing his arms as he looked up at the skyline.

There was a moment where all that could be heard were the beeps of cars below as background noise. It was strange for Avery to have the opportunity to look over the entire city from the rooftop and it made her feel so much smaller. She thought about how she was just one of a million other humans running around this city. She thought back to how her life was before the whole accident and meeting the turtles.

She had lived in a small apartment with her cat while the rest of her family lived several states away in their own little world. Avery had passed through school easily and didn't need to worry about college bills thanks to her father's job. She had even been the only candidate for her job so she didn't have any competition to beat out and had been hired almost immediately. Avery had a normal life where she believed that she was the center of the universe...just like everyone else. Compared to the turtles she was like every other person in New York City; unimportant. She could have been replaced with any other young woman in the city and there wouldn't have been any difference.

They though…there were only four of them in the entire world. The turtles had even saved the city with only a handful of people knowing and they couldn't even be thanked for it. The turtles were more important than some girl who thought she deserved more than what she got.

Yet, they got nothing.

"Thank you."

This time instead of the words came out without thought and reluctance. This time she meant it as she thought about how stubborn she had been.

Raphael shifted slightly next to her, as if her words had shocked him. He was silent for a few moments.

"Fer what?" he finally asked.

The young woman smiled, "I never fully thanked any of you for saving a month ago. Saving the whole city."

The turtle's eyes widened and he let his hands fall to his sides as a silence stretched on and on. Only the dim sounds of the cars rumbled below along with what may have been a plane over head.

"Well…" Avery broke the awkward silence, "We should get going before it gets dark."

Raph shook his head as if clearing away a thought, "you're one weird chick."

 Avery resumed her role as a human backpack. It didn't take long for the two to make it to Avery's apartment and she could officially say that she broke into her own home through the seventh floor window. Which was an experience in of itself.

The apartment was dim as Avery was put down in one of the kitchen chairs with a huff. She rubbed her aching wrists as Raphael looked around the kitchen and living room in curiosity. He stood out starkly against the pale furniture and looked far too big for the small space.

"I have a second wheelchair in the closet over there." Avery pointed to the small closet to the left of the kitchen.

"Wha' I hafta do everything for ya?" the turtle said sarcastically, though Avery could tell that he was slightly uneasy in a confined space like the house.

The young woman scowled, "You're the one who left my other one down in the sewer."

Raph huffed to himself but carefully pulled the fold-able chair from the closet, though a few brooms seemed keen on annoying him further by continuously falling over.

"Your majesty." He grumbled setting the chair down next to Avery.

The young woman sighed as she pulled herself back into the chair, the relief of being mobile once more filling her.

"Need anything else Gimpy?" the turtle smirked as Avery flicked on a light and was immediately greeted by her lonely looking cat.

He meowed loudly and the woman petted him, his eyes wide as he bumped his striped head against the chair's wheel. She grabbed a cup full of cat food and refilled the almost empty metal bowl. The cat squeaked in happiness and quickly went about eating.

"No…" she answered, feeling strange that she was doing something normal for a change.

"But thank you again."

Raph simply shrugged and made his way back to the open window, hesitating with his hand on the window sill.

"Look."

Avery turned with an irritated look, "Yes?"

The turtle smirked, "Wanted ta say…sorry for scarin' ya. Wasn't fair."

The young woman blinked rapidly but smiled in return, pleasantly surprised that those words had come out of the stubborn turtle's mouth. She was about to respond when a sudden knock came from across the room, causing Avery to jump and Raph to go for his sai.

There was a moment in which the two simply stared at the front door as if it were going to explode. Then the knock came again.

"Just one second!" Avery called, her brain working to try and figure out who would be visiting her.

_'If mom arrived early I'm going to kill her…'_ Avery thought, not putting it past her overbearing mother to do something of the sort.

_'She's not supposed to come up for another two weeks.'_

She turned to warn Raph to leave but saw that the turtle had already disappeared, apparently out the window. Avery sighed before she grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open. Avery blinked in shock though as she looked up. It was not her mother as she had half expected, instead stood a middle aged man dressed in a smart looking suit and carrying a briefcase.

"Good afternoon miss, I'm sorry to arrive unannounced." The man said with a winning smile that could be attributed to either a lawyer or business man.

"Hello." She frowned, "I wasn't expecting anyone. Are you trying to sell something?" she said rather sarcastically.

The man held out a hand, "Oh no not at all. I was just wondering if I could talk to you about the recent events that have transpired involving your recent bout in the hospital."

Avery shook the outstretched hand but frowned, "Um, sure. Can I ask who you might be?" her confusion deepening.

"Again, my apologies." The man chuckled, stepping through the threshold and into the apartment.

"I should have introduced myself. My name is Eric Sacks."


	14. Uncomfortable Social Conversations

Avery felt her heart grow cold as the man walked through the apartment, his sharp eyes roaming the small space. The woman knew that name; the turtles had said that the cause of the building collapse was because of called Eric Sacks and his master the Shredder.

The man turned back to flash another smile at Avery, "Is there somewhere we can sit and talk. I promise that I'll be brief."

The young woman was about to answer when a pair of red circled eyes appeared just behind the corner of the kitchen. Raphael hadn't left.

She felt her eyes go wide but forced herself to not glance behind the man. She plastered on a mild smile and gestured to the couch facing away from the kitchen.

"Sure, the living room should be fine." 

Sacks nodded and sat as Avery wheeled towards the kitchen.

"I'll be there in just a second, need to grab something to drink. Water?" Avery asked sweetly, rummaging through her cabinet for a moment.

Sacks shook his head, "No, no. I'm fine."

The woman nodded while trying not to panic as her heart fluttered into her throat. The man who had been the cause of her disabled state, the man who was willing to kill Splinter and the four turtles was sitting in her living room. Avery turned the corner and saw that Raphael had moved back to where the stove was, his eyes were narrowed and he gripped his sai at the ready. The girl motioned to the door to the left that lead to the bathroom and grudgingly the turtle complied.

As soon as he made it inside she shut the door behind them.

"What the hell is he doing here?!" Raph growled, keeping his voice low.

Avery ran a hand through her still tangled hair, "I have no idea. He said something about my hospital visit but…he could be lying." 

The turtle clenched his fists, "I need to get the others here. Finish what we started."

Avery shook her head frantically, heart racing as she imagined the turtle trying to get out of her apartment without being seen or worse a brawl starting right then and there.

"There is no way you can sneak out without him noticing. Ninja or no ninja there is no way he'd miss a six foot turtle leaving through the window."

There was a second of silence and Avery knew that if she stayed in the bathroom any longer Sacks would start to get suspicious.

"Look, let me just talk with him and see if he's actually here to settle a claim or not. If anything goes wrong you'll be the first to know and then you can go all ninja." She offered, trying to control her voice.

At first it looked like Raphael would object but with a low growl he slowly nodded.

"If I hear one thing, I'm bustin' him up. You got me?"

Avery nodded and before he could change his mind left the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind her. Quickly, she grabbed a can of cola from the fridge and wheeled her way back to the living room where Eric Sacks was patiently waiting.

"So, Mr. Sacks you said you're here because of my hospital visit?" she started off, making sure that her voice didn't shake as she took a sip of her soda.

The man nodded, placing his briefcase on the coffee table.

"Yes I did. Recently, Sacks Industries received a claim from your insurance. It claimed that my corporation should pay for the medical bills."

Avery had to try not to laugh, she thought that he better pay the bills but knew it was better to keep that particular thought to herself.

Instead she simply nodded.

"First of all, let me tell you how sorry I am that the faulty supports on my building could do something so horrific." He continued, eyeing the wheelchair that Avery sat in.

"And I will do everything in my power to make sure that the repairs are up to the standards that the citizens of New York deserve."

"So…" Avery drew out the word.

Sacks continued, the same winning smile never leaving his face.

"So the reason I am here, Ms. Ritz. I'm kindly asking that you ask your insurance to revoke the claim. Just so that I can get to bottom of what happened and the real company behind this tragic accident." He concluded.

"But how am I supposed to pay the bills? Because of the accident I no longer have a job." She asked back, legitimate concern lacing her voice.

Sack's smile faltered slightly, "Like I said before Ms. Ritz, I am so sorry for what happened. But Sacks industries isn't really the one behind the faulty support structure. As soon as we find who is truly responsible for the lapse you will be fully compensated."

There was a moment of silence in which Avery was having an inner battle.

She had come to the conclusion that Sacks had no idea that she had anything to do with the turtles. Let alone knew the real reason behind the building collapse. So, now the real issue was making sure that the idiot didn't try and sneak anything by her. Avery knew she deserved to be compensated in full for what happened to her. On the other hand though, the longer he stayed here the bigger the chance that he might somehow figure out there was a ninja turtle hiding her bathroom.Plus if she pushed too far he would start to suspect she knew the truth.

"How long do you think that the process will take Mr. Sacks?" she asked softly, trying to seem calm and soft-spoken.

"Hopefully, with your cooperation the process of getting to the truth should only take a couple weeks. My office will even contact you when the process is complete." He pulled out a stapled set of papers and handed them to Avery.

The young woman looked them over and saw that what he was saying was all in writing. Sacks had somehow managed to frame some steel company for faulty structure construction. Below on the paper there seemed to be a few other signatures that may have been from other victims of the accident.

"Your signature below is the way that the rightful company can compensate you." Sacks clasped his hands together and looked expectantly at the woman, his sharp eyes boring into her.

For a few more minutes Avery pretended to read the forms and knew that her only options were to sign the paper, or get a lawyer and continue to pursue Sacks Industries. And she didn't have the money or time for a lawyer. Even if she did she couldn't currently tell said lawyer that the real reason behind her injury was Sacks trying to kill four mutant turtles.

"I see that everything seems in order." She finally said, trying to put on a nice innocent smile.

Eric Sacks grinned, "Excellent! I'm glad that you agree."

Without further ado he handed Avery a spiffy new pen and she carefully signed her name on the last line of the paper. She handed the papers back and crossed her arms, trying not to seem impatient as she saw the bathroom door crack open slightly.

"Thank you for your cooperation Ms. Ritz, I promise that this will all be resolved quickly." Sacks held out a hand and Avery leaned forward to shake it.

Just as the man held her hand Avery felt his grip tighten for a split second. She was about to ask what was wrong but the bout lasted only a moment and the business man smile was back within seconds.

"Again, a real pleasure." He took his hand back and began digging in his pocket, "If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me."

With a flick of his wrist Sacks pulled out a sleek looking business card and handed it to Avery with a wink.

The young woman tried to smile back as she took the card, "Have a good one Mr. Sacks."

Sacks dipped he head as he stood and walked back towards the door, "Thanks, you as well Ms. Ritz."

He straightened his shoulders and slowly opened the door, "Please don't hesitate to call."

And with that he shut the door.

With a sigh Avery hunched over in her chair, feeling all her energy fade away as the threat of imminent danger faded.

There was loud bang though as the bathroom door was fully opened and Raphael stepped out, his eyes still narrowed in anger.

"Coulda taken 'im." He growled, reluctantly sliding his sai back into his belt.

Avery shook her head, "No. I haven't seen this guy in person before but I've felt the effects of what he's willing to do to get what he wants. It's better that he doesn't know that I've met you guys."

The turtle glanced down at the wheelchair, his vengeful expression dissipating. He sighed to himself and glanced at the door once more before turning to go back to the window.

"I think ya plans need to change. If Sacks knows where ya live you can't stay here." He said, opening the window.

Avery groaned, knowing that what he said was true. But she had just gotten home, the last thing she wanted to do was head back down to the sewers. She also wasn't looking forward to the painful journey across the rooftops.

"Give me just like…fifteen minutes." She said, turning to head over to her bedroom to grab new clothes.

The turtle rolled his eyes, "Make it ten."

The young woman gave him a sarcastic thumbs up.

* * *

 

"Ya almost done in there?! We need ta get out!" Raphael shouted across the apartment, knowing the Avery was taking much more than her allotted ten minutes.

He was currently leaning against the kitchen counter, out of sight of the front door or any windows just in case Sacks wanted to spy on his new found "friend". Though Avery's striped tabby cat wasn't so keen on leaving him be. She was currently pawing at the tasseled ends of his belt.

There was a sharp click as a door on the other side of the room opened quickly, revealing the Avery with dripping hair and a small backpack.

"I'm sorry if I'd prefer not to smell like a sewer." She grumbled, throwing the bag over her shoulders.

The turtle simply huffed before offering a hand.

"You didn't keep that card did ya? Last time April found out it had a tracking chip in it." Raph said as the woman hung from his shell once more.

She shook her head, "No, threw it away as soon as he left."

"Good." He growled as he carefully eased his way out of the window and up onto the roof of the apartment.

"Last thing we need is Sacks knockin' on our door again."

Avery felt most of the breath leave her lungs as the turtle swung up and out the window before climbing the fire escape.

To their left the sun began its descent towards the horizon, the hazy sky turning bright orange. Luckily, it didn't take long for the two of them to reach the manhole from which they had come up from. Raph crouched down and removed the manhole cover and carefully lowered Avery back down into her awaiting wheelchair.

She winced since the seat was somewhat damp but tried to ignore the slight inconvenience, Avery was just happy that she had been able to take a shower before coming back down to the sewers.

"C'mon, we need ta tell the others about your visitor." Raph muttered as he peeked around the corner of the sewer to make sure that whatever it was his brothers had gone after didn't follow them.

Avery cocked her head to see if she could hear anything but the sound of traffic up above along with the echoing drips from the sewer made that almost impossible. Without a word Raph trotted around the corner and Avery followed suit, careful to not tip her chair over for a third time.

It shouldn't have taken long to get back to the lair but Raphael was careful to check around every corner, and constantly had one hand on his sai. It took almost fifteen minutes for the two of them to get back to the brick wall.

"Stay back for a second, wanna check ta see if anyone's inside." The turtled muttered, reaching up and pulling the hidden pipe that activated the door.

Avery sat back and held her breath as the door opened and Raph suddenly lunged forward. The young woman gasped and rolled forward, expecting to see some sort of black clad man or group of ninja warriors prepared for battle.

For two seconds Raph held his sai up as the blade of a katana came to a halt centimeters from his neck. Across from the red banded turtle stood Leonardo, the katana resting in his hand. His narrowed eyes widened as he realized who was standing across from him.

"Expecting someone else?" Raph smirked as his brother lowered his weapon and he lowered his, straightening up.

"Where'd you disappear to? We thought something had happened?" Leo scowled, glancing behind Raph to Avery who gave a nervous wave.

"Little miss sunshine here decided to go for a ride. We had a little bit of a chat." The red banded turtle said with a grin as he walked back towards the kitchen when Splinter was sitting.

Behind in the living room stood Mikey and Donatello who looked curiously around their older brother, and smiled as they saw it was only Avery and Raphael.

"Did you guys find out who was in the tunnels?" the young woman asked, rolling her chair up to the blue masked turtle.

"It ended up being a group of construction workers mapping out a section of sewer. Luckily they didn't even come close to here." He smiled but it faded as he cocked and eye ridge.

"Where'd you disappear to?"

"Well, Raph and I talked...figured some our differences out." Leo glanced at Raph 's turned back before returning his attention back to Avery.

She noted his worried look, "Don't worry, it worked itself out. Either way we sort of a a different problem now. After Raph and I talked he took me back to my apartment and, well...Eric Sacks was there. 

"WHAT!" Mikey, Don, and Leo all exclaimed at the same time and Spiinter stood suddenly.

Avery took a breath before briefly outlining what had happened; everything from how Raph had taken her back to her apartment when Sacks had shown up out of the blue to him wanting her to drop her claim. As she continued to tell her story both Splinter, Don and Michelangelo came over to stand next to Leo to listen.

"So Sacks knows that you were involved somehow, maybe it would have been better for you to stay home…" Splinter said quietly, stroking his whiskers in a thoughtful manner.

Leo nodded, "He might have someone watching your apartment but at this point the less they see you the better. Good thinking to bring her back Raph."

"It ain't all rocks up there!" Raph called across the lair, tapping the side of his head with a grin as Leo rolled his eyes.

"I'm just glad that Sack didn't seem too keen on doing anything drastic. I'm sorry that you had to sign over your claim Avery." Donatello said.

She shrugged, trying not to get too hung up on that at the moment, she knew that at this point money wasn't worth anyone's life.

Don continued, "You're lucky he didn't bring anyone with him. He could have just as easily threatened you to give up the insurance claim with Foot ninja, explosions, poison-"

"Hopefully, I don't mean enough for him to worry about." Avery interrupted, not wanting to imagine all those scenarios.

The turtles all nodded in agreement. There was a moment of silence in which the turtles began to go back to their own activities, tension eased for the moment when Avery spoke. 

"Hey, before you go back to your business. I wanted to say something."

The three turtles other than Raph shared a glance before halting.

"Earlier, when Raph said we had a chat. Well, I realized that I should apologize for treating you guys the way I did."

Smiles spread across Leo, Mikey, and Donnie's faces.

"I wanted to ask your forgiveness…" she finished, holding her hand out fully.

Leonardo stepped forward and took it, shaking it gently and Avery didn't flinch.

"No need."

"Yeah! I know our devilishly good looks can be intimidating." Michelangelo said, eliciting a laugh from Avery. 

She smiled as Leo dropped her hand and they all began talking among themselves. Her eyes wandered to Raph who was now sitting at the kitchen table and he dipped his head in approval with a rare smile.

 

* * *

 

Sacks smiled as he shook the young woman's hand but was mentally trying to comprehend what he saw. There, on the woman's neck was what looked like a mass of bumps or scales. His mind was racing as he let go of her hand.

How and why did she have scales on her neck? How…

Sack's mind immediately went to the fact that the woman had been caught in the debris of the falling building. The same building on which the turtles, Shredder, and the mutagen had fallen off of. Different scenarios flashed through his mind but he knew that whatever had happened this girl knew more than she was letting on.

"Again, a pleasure." He smiled, rummaging in his pocket for a business card.

"If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me." He gave the card to Ms. Ritz.

Then with that, he turned and started walking towards the door.

His first thought was that he had to tell Master Shredder about this sudden development. All of a sudden the problem regarding the lawsuits and claims became so much smaller. This girl could change everything for him and the Foot Clan.

Quickly, Sacks hurried down to the elevator and tapped his foot impatiently as the lift lowered itself to the first floor. As soon as the doors cracked open the man made his way out of the apartment and out to where the black car was waiting for him.

The door of the car slammed shut and within seconds Sack's had his phone out and was dialing number rapidly. He put the device to his ear as his fingers drummed against his knee, the phone ringing dimly. A gruff voice picked up on the other end.

"Sensei, I believe I've found a lead."

 


	15. Unexpected Results

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the results we've been waiting for! TA-DA...or maybe not so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest I forgot I still had chapters to post for this story so sorry for the long wait. Let me know what you think :)

                "Dammit..." Avery cursed as she had to pick herself up from the floor for the second time that day.

The young woman had simply been trying to get around the lair when her chair got caught on a pipe or a rough piece of concrete and refused to budge.

This time she had been on her way back from the bathroom when her chair had actually caught on of the training room's rug. This caused her to tip her chair. The only upside that Avery could get out of this situation was that she was getting a good upper body workout.

Luckily, none of the turtles were there to laugh at her awkwardness. Leo and Splinter had gone out on a training exercise earlier that morning, Donatello was holed up in his lab, Raph had gone topside, and Mikey...well Avery wasn't sure what Mikey was doing. To be honest she hadn't see him much since the evening before when she had apologized. She assumed he was either playing video games somewhere or had possibly gone outside to join his brother.

Pushing these thoughts away Avery repositioned herself in her chair and absentmindedly scratched at her neck. The scales catching under her fingernails.

 _'Soon...I'll get answers...'_ Avery thought as she rolled her way back to her little room.

     Hopefully, Donatello would be able to tell her what was going on with her and tell her how to cure it. Avery continued to be lost in her own thoughts as she rubbed her thumb against the rough nubs, not noticing the shadow coming up behind her.

                “I’ve come for your _soooul_!”

Avery felt her heart nearly stop as an involuntary shriek escaped her lips. She whipped around and tried to back her wheelchair up. Unfortunately, she only succeeded in tipping it back so she landed on her shoulders, the wind rushing from the young woman’s lungs.

At first Avery had no clue as to what happened but heard the rapid spurt of giggles that turned into full-bellied chuckles. The girl shifted and saw Michelangelo bent double laughing his shell off as she tried to gain her breath back.

At that moment the lab door slammed open with a disgruntled Donnie glaring out at whoever was making the ruckus.

                “Mikey, what did you do!?” he growled, striding over as the orange banded brother, his bespectacled eyes growing wide as he saw Avery on the ground.

                “I-I was using my ninja stealth!” He tried to cover his laughter but in the end only devolved back into giggles.

                “Nice job, you could’ve given her a heart attack or a concussion,” Donnie grumbled as he helped Avery back into her chair.

                “Are you okay?”

She nodded and held up a hand as she caught her breath, both irritated and panicked at the same time.

                “I’m, fine…just winded.” Avery said after a moment, glaring daggers at Mikey who had contented himself to grinning at her.

The purple banded brother shook his head and sighed, “You need a better way of getting around. One of these days you’re gunna get into trouble with that chair.”

The young woman rolled her eyes, “Yeah, legs would be ideal but I’ll manage.”

                 “Maybe this one could find a better use of him time though.” She jerked a thumb at Michelangelo who made an exaggerated boo-boo face.

                 “Aw, that cuts deep ya know.” He stuck out his bottom lip and feigned tears.

Avery simple shook her head, it was like she was dealing with her twelve year old brother again, "Really it's fine."

                  “I could probably find a way to make it easier for you to get around though.” Donnie said squatting down to inspect the slick, slim wheels of the wheelchair.

Avery peered over and ran a thumb over the wearing tread, “That would actually be great. Would you really be able to do that?!”

Donatello grinned and his glasses flashed, “You’re talking to the turtle who can build a motherboard out of paperclips, copper wire, and an old deliberator circuits. I think I can change a wheelchair tire.”

* * *

 

Only a few minutes later Avery was wincing as another hammer blow hit the side of her wheelchair. She luckily was sitting off to the side in a desk chair while Donnie worked on her wheelchair.

            “I thought he was just changing the tires?” she asked, glancing at Michelangelo to her right.

            The younger turtle simple shrugged with a smile, “When Donnie gets something in his mind he don’t stop til he thinks it’s perfect.”

            The young woman sighed and watched as the purple clad turtle tinkered with something underneath the chair. It was fun to watch Donatello work but at the same time Avery was wary of the smoke stained walls and the singed doorway.

            “He wouldn’t put anything dangerous on my chair right?” she asked again, crossing her arms.

            Mikey laughed, nervously.

            “Well, he won’t do it on purpose but, well, Don doesn’t have the most stable inventions sometimes.”

            Avery swallowed nervously and groaned, putting her head in her hands. She was quickly regretting allowing the turtle to tinker with her chair.

            “Hey Don? Ya got any…”

            Both Mikey and Avery looked up as Raphael walked into the lab, his sentence getting cut off as he saw what his brother was working on.

  
            “What in the…” the red banded turtle sighed as Donatello gave a slightly nervous grin along with a wave.

            “You need something Raph?”

            The other turtle glanced at Mikey, who waved as well, and Avery, who shook her head in embarrassment. He scowled and looked back at Donnie, who smiled expectantly.

            “Nevermind, I don’t wanna know.” Raph shook his head and waved his hands, turning to leave.

 “The less I know the less I can say when this all goes to hell.” He grumbled and shut the door behind him.

            “I’m doomed…” Avery sighed, putting her head in her hands.

* * *

            April followed Leonardo into the lair when the smell of smoke hit her nose. At first she glanced to the kitchen and expected to see Mikey trying to cook something but, the kitchen was empty and the smoke came from elsewhere.

            “Oh no…” Leo grumbled and trotted across the lair to the closed door of Donatello’s lab.

            April followed and covered her nose with her shirt as she saw the smoke curling up from under the door.

            The blue banded turtle was about to pull the door open but as his fingers touched the doorknob the door was pulled open to reveal a coughing Michelangelo and Avery.

            The youngest brother was holding up the young woman as he hobbled though the door, ignoring the bewildered Leo and April.

            “AIR!” the youngest turtle gasped placing Avery onto the pizza box couch before he collapsed to the ground, somewhat dramatically.

            The young woman coughed before gasping, a slight grin on her face as she sat up on the couch.

            “What is going on?!” Leonardo demanded, glancing into the smoke filled lab before looking back over at Mikey.

            The orange turtle picked himself up and leaned against the side of the couch, “Donnie wanted to pimp out Avery’s chair. I think he’s trying to attach rockets now…”

            April blinked in surprise, “Why would you let him do that!?”

            “I tried to…there wasn’t much I could do though.” Avery said, taking a deep breath still smiling.

            Right then there was a loud bang and something came shooting out of the lab.

            “DUCK!” a voice called out of the lab and Leo pushed April out of the way as Avery had to almost dive off the couch.

            The blurry shape shot out of the lab and hit one of the pillars holding the ceiling up, it ricocheted and hit the ground with another loud bang before rolling to a stop directly in front of the entrance, at the feet of the on looking Master Splinter.

            “Uh-oh.” Mikey shrank back as the rat stepped forward.

            The blur turned out to be a severely dented and deflated wheel from the wheelchair that the old rat picked up, his brow furrowed harshly as he gazed up t each of his sons.

            “Where is Donnatello?” he said softly but Avery felt as if he had yelled.

            On que, the purple clad turtle stumbled from his lab, coughing into his fist as the smoke began to clear. Oil, and smoke had darkened parts of the turtle’s skin and his glasses.

            “I’m…I’m here sensei,” he panted, all excitement for his project gone and was replaced by shame as he master approached.

            “What is the meaning of this?” the rat held up the tire.

            Donnie winced, “I-I was…experimenting.” He murmured, shuffling his feet on the floor.

            Splinter nodded slowly, “Do you understand what your actions could have done my son!?”

            The turtle simply nodded.

            “You could have seriously hurt someone. I have told you time and again to curb your dangerous experiments!”

            “Yes, sensei.”

            The rat glanced around at the other turtles before staring down at his son.

            “One night in the hashi. So you make think about the consequences of your actions.”

            At this Donatello gulped and kept him eyes looking downward.

            Avery glanced around to Mikey, not fully understanding what was going on.

            “What’s the hashi?” She asked, the word falling strangely on her ears.

            The orange turtle grimaced but turned to whisper, “It’s basically hardcore ninja timeout. It’s a way that Splinter would punish us for doing something bad ever since we started our training.”

            Avery frowned, “But Donnie didn’t doing anything wrong. He was trying to help!”

            The orange banded turtle shrugged but his eyes remained sympathetic, “It doesn’t matter what he meant. To Master Splinter if you do something to mess up you need to learn from your mistake.”

            At this the young woman shook her head and pulled herself up to look over the back of the pizza box couch. She didn’t want Donnie to get in trouble on her behalf.

            “Master Splinter!”

            The rat had turned to leave but paused to look at the young woman, his eyes curious as everyone in the room turned to look at Avery in surprise. She blushed at the sudden attention but cleared her throat before speaking.

            “Master Splinter, may I ask, please, don’t punish Donatello! He was only trying to help me. I’ve been having problems getting around in my chair so he offered to help fix my wheelchair. He was only trying to help.”

            The rat blinked in surprise and considered the request.

            The young woman glanced at the purple clad turtle who seemed to be particularly interested in looking at the floor. It was then that Avery realized that perhaps she shouldn’t have said anything and her face began to burn in embarrassment. She knew it probably seemed rude to contradict Master Splinter but she didn't feel that it was fair for Donnie to on be trying to help.

            “Perhaps…the hashi would not be a good use of Donatello’s time…”

            At this the turtle’s head popped up in shock, his bespectacled eyes wide as he looked at his master with unbridled surprise.

            “Instead, you are to clean our home until every remnant of smoke is gone and you must fix Ms. Avery’s chair.”

            Donnie was about to answer when Master Splinter held up a knobby digit.

            “ _Without_ tinkering with it.”

            “Yes, sensei.” He finally answered, bowing at the waist as Leo, April, Mikey, and Avery looked on in what seemed to be disbelief.

            It was only after Splinter left did Donnie let out a long breath and sat down in a sunken old chair, a nervous grin plastered on his face.

            “Thank you for that…I definitely didn’t want to spend the night in the hashi.”

            Avery sat down with a huff, letting her legs fall over the edge uselessly as April sat down next to her. She felt like she had just gotten off a rollercoaster, her adrenaline pumping.

            “Yeah, well I couldn’t let you get in trouble simply for trying to help. Besides, you’re the only one who can fix my chair and my scaly condition.” she smiled and held up a hand.

            Donnie hi fived her with his own smile growing as Leo turned to his younger brother.

            “By the way, how is that test going Don?” Leo asked.

            “Right…I almost forgot about that testing. It should have finished up this morning.”

             Avery’s eyes went wide, “Really, the results are ready!?”

            The turtled nodded, “They should be. I’ll go check, don’t move.” He sat up quickly and headed back into his lab, leaving everyone to look after him.

            Avery curled her hands into fists in anticipation, she would finally be able to get some answers.

             “Are you gunna be okay with the outcome?” April asked, putting a hand on Avery’s shoulder.

            The young woman shrugged, suddenly feeling like she was about to take some sort of big exam or test.

            “I…I just want to know. I’ll figure out what to do with the results afterwards.” She said, scratching at a relatively new scale just under her jaw, "besides it can't really be that bad right?"

            “Hey! What I miss? It smells like a frickin’ firework went off.” Raphael suddenly came down the stairs, his eyes going to the gathering in the living room.

            “Donnie tried to _improve_ Avery’s wheelchair and went a little over board.” Leonardo explained, crossing his arms as he brother came to stand behind the couch.

            Michelangelo laughed, “Improve is a bit too generous a word there Leo.”

            The red banded turtle smirked, “And that is why I don’t git involved with that shell-fer-brain’s projects.”

            “It’s also this _shell-for-brain’s_ job to fix your weights when you break them, Raph.” Donnie appeared in the lab’s doorway, raising an eye ridge at his older brother.

            Raph blinked in surprise, not knowing that the purple masked turtle had been standing there. He simply grumbled something under his breath earning smiles from the others.

            “So?” Avery said slowly, drawing attention back to matter at hand.

            “What do we have Donnie?”

            Donatello peered down at the sheet of paper that was gripped in his hand, his eyes flicking back and forth behind his glasses. Avery felt her heart beating against her ribcage as she waited, fighting against the urge to snatch the paper away and read it herself.

            “Well?” Leo asked after the silence had reached about thirty seconds.

            Don looked up and glanced over at Avery with a bizarre look, “I’m not exactly sure. The results of the blood test are strange. But, the main point is that, you somehow…got mutagen into your blood stream.”

            There was a moment of silence in which all eyes went to Avery, who simply looked at the turtles with raised eyebrows and wide eyes.

            “What is mutagen? I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean.” 

            Donatello looked to Leo, the blue banded turtles thinking hard as he turned to the young woman.

            “Mutagen is what made us into what we are today. We started out as normal box turtles but now we’re…well you can see what we’ve turned into. It must have gotten into your blood when the building collapsed on you. The sample that the Shredder had must’ve shattered onto you.” Leonardo said, tapping a finger against his chin in thought.

            “That has to be the only way.”

            Avery’s face whitened a few shades as she began to grasp what Leonardo was saying and she looked down horrified at her shaking hands. April put a gentle hand on the girl’s shoulder but she flinched away.

            “So…you’re saying that I’m t-turning into something else?” she asked softly, her hands going to her neck, her fingers rubbing the scales.

            “Yes, into what I’m not sure though. Technically it could be anything but from the test it looks like progression is slow. It could take a long while for anything major to happen.” he said, trying to give some sort of encouragement but it was evident that Avery was having a hard time excepting what was told.

            “I’m actually mutating.” she breathed and tears began to form in her eyes.

            The four brothers looked at each other, at a loss as for what to do. This was a first for them as well.

            “Hey, hey,” April said softly, trying to comfort the young woman when she suddenly began to shudder, intensely scratching at her neck as if she had been bitten or stung.

            “Avery!” April gasped at the sudden vicious act and tried to grab the girl’s wrist to stop her from hurting herself.

            “I can’t!” she wept, almost falling off the couch as she shied away from April, her nails digging against the scales.

            “I can’t turn into a mutant!” Avery sobbed hysterically, blood beginning to bead and drip from her scratches.

            The turtles all jumped into action at this; Leonardo reaching the young woman first as Mikey jumped up from his sitting position on the floor, Donnie rushed to his lab, and Raph nearly vaulted the couch to get around it.

            “Avery stop!” the blue banded turtle shouted, grabbing her wrists forcefully.

            He didn’t want to hurt her but the girl tried to twist away so he was obliged to clamp his fingers harder against her arms. She struggled for a few seconds more before she seemed to see she was overpowered by the stronger turtle. Avery looked up with red eyes and a dripping face, her eyes focusing on her hands with bits of scale and red smeared across them.   

Blood was smeared across her neck but was already starting to clot as Avery looked to the turtle grabbing her wrists hopelessly.

            “Avery?” Leo asked softly, trying to get her to look at him.

            Her dark eyes met his for a moment before she collapsed into whimpers on the couch, her shoulders shaking as Leonardo gently released her wrists. It was then that Donatello came back with a roll of bandages and some antiseptic, his eyes wide behind his glasses.

            With a few soft words from April and a hand on her arm Avery sat up, dull eyes glued to the floor as the bespectacled turtle knelt in front of her. Carefully, he began to dab at the scratches with antiseptic and cover them with gauze.

            “It’s okay Avery. We’re going try and find a way to help you, you’re not going to mutate.” He said, glancing up from wrapping a bandage around the woman’s neck.

            She nodded ever so slightly, wiping her nose with a shaking hand before sniffing loudly.

            “Yeah, we aren’t gunna just leave you.” Mikey tried to smile encouragingly but it did little to help.

            Donnie finished up bandaging Avery’s neck and stepped back, the turtles waiting to see if she would do or say anything other than stare straight ahead. For several seconds Avery just stared, her mind seemed to be in a different place as she rubbed at the bandage around her neck.

            “Can I go home?”

            At this everyone started, not expecting Avery to speak. She looked up at April dully, her face blotchy from crying.

            April looked up at the turtles before scooting closer to the young woman, who looked more like a scared five year old.

            “Yeah, yeah you can go home. That should give you time to collect your thoughts huh?” she said with a small smile.

            “If you want I can stay with you, keep you company.”

            Again Avery nodded, rubbing her shoulder, “Sure...”

            “What do you guys think?” the woman asked the turtles.

            Raphael looked like he was about object but Leo gave the slightest of hand gestures to shut him down. He nodded and gave an encouraging smile, eyes guarded as looked between the two woman.

            “I think that would be for the best.”


End file.
